


Ten Minutes Too Late

by alangdorf



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Abuse, Actually Ventus is everyone's big brother and Vanitas is their weird cousin, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Brief Reference to Self-Harm (but there's no actual self-harm), Child Abuse, Gen, Nonbinary Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Scars, Sora and Ventus are brothers, Sora is born about ten minutes late and that's it that's the divergence, Trans Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Trans Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas Redemption (Kingdom Hearts), Vanitas gets forcibly domesticated, Vanitas is in fact a cat don’t let him tell you otherwise, Violence, and that's why Ven has no friends, despite my best efforts this fic is still pretty vanitas centric, disclaimer: I know LITERALLY NOTHING about final fantasy characters, minor Transphobia, tags WILL be added and I have NO doubt it will be a MESS, this can be read as sorikai but I'm not much one for shipping so officially it's just platonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-09-07 04:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20303308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alangdorf/pseuds/alangdorf
Summary: Sora is born just ten minutes too late, and everything changes. Xehanort leaves a dying Ventus behind on the Destiny Islands to be found and adopted by none other than Sora's mom. Destiny will never be the same.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by au discussion on a kh creative discord server I'm on, specifically brushstrokesApocalyptic, who is on both tumblr and ao3. This is my first multichapter fic and my second fic ever, so it'll be updated when and if I write more content for it. Thanks!

Hikari was the first to notice the white shape on the play island’s paopu tree. She watched the sun rise on the day after the birth of her first child and was puzzled to see a sheet draped over an unusual lump on the tree. She didn’t think much of it, but heard several hours later that her neighbor had decided to investigate and found, of all things, a preteen boy, nearly catatonic. He could only answer his name – Ventus – and hadn’t even made it back to the main island before falling completely unconscious.

Nobody wanted to bother Hikari, still recovering from labor, but she lived near the beach and had an extra room. She got up to a knock on the door and found herself with two children instead of one, at least while they searched for the boy’s parents.

A couple of months and several dozen phone calls later, and no luck. He seemed to have just appeared out of thin air, and on top of that, he hadn’t woken up since his initial arrival. Things were starting to look rather bleak.

She had just gotten off the phone with the local police station when Sora started yelling at the top of their lungs. She hurried to the baby’s room and scooped them from their crib, checking their diaper and thinking back to the last time she had fed them, only an hour ago. Sighing, she returned to the living room and settled onto the couch with the crying child cradled carefully in her arms.

She considered what to do about Ventus. It appeared as though someone had just abandoned him on the play island, although where he had lived before was still a mystery. Every child his age was accounted for on the island, as well as the other islands in their small archipelago. Had somebody really traveled that far just to drop him off with no way to fend for himself? If they couldn’t find anybody who knew him, where would he go? There was also the matter of his health. He hadn’t woken up even once in weeks. If it was much longer, they would have to transfer him to a hospital. And what if he never woke up? What if –

The floor creaked, startling Hikari out of her thoughts. It was an old house, and not an uncommon occurrence, although an unexpected one. Sora continued to cry, and she bounced them in her arms in a vain attempt to comfort them.

Then a door creaked open. Hikari froze. Was there someone else in her house? It should have just been her, Sora, and…

“…Ventus?”

He walked slowly into the main room of the house, still wearing the too-big pajamas Hikari had given him. His eyes were a foggy green, and they looked almost lifeless. He stopped beside the couch, staring at nothing.

“Ventus, honey, are you okay? Can you hear me?” There was no reply, but he swiveled his gaze toward her eyes. She felt as though he were looking right through her. “Ventus?”  
Suddenly, Sora started screaming again with renewed fervor. Ventus stared at them and started forward hesitantly, pausing in from of Hikari with his hand tentatively raised. She tried to take it with her free hand, but he pulled away and nearly fell over. “Careful!” She didn’t want him to hit his head on anything, so she stood up and grabbed his shoulder to stabilize him. This would’ve been much, much easier if she wasn’t also holding a baby.

Ventus was still staring at Sora, albeit expressionlessly. “Do… do you want to touch the baby?” That felt like a stupid question, especially since there was no answer forthcoming, but Ventus reached out with his hand again, almost so slowly she couldn’t see him moving. After a minute of silence broken only by Sora’s cries, where Hikari was wondering what on Earth she was doing not getting Ventus back to bed immediately and calling the foster system, Sora took Ventus’ little finger in their own tiny baby hand.

The pieces of fate clicked into place, a satisfying sound that both turned the world upside-down and made it feel right to be doing so. Hikari let out a breath she hadn’t been holding. It took her a moment to realize Sora had stopped crying and was instead gazing at Ventus. Ventus’ eyes glinted in the light and a tiny smile had crept across his face. Sora giggled in return. Hikari felt an unexpected kind of peace, standing here with her two children.

…_Her_ two children? When had she decided that?

Then Sora let go of Ventus’ finger, and the boy collapsed to his knees almost immediately. Hikari quickly went to place Sora back in their crib so she could help him. She glanced at the cooing baby on her way out of the room, trying to figure out something she couldn’t put her finger on. It wasn’t until she got Ventus, her _son_, back to his room safely that it finally occurred to her.

They had the same eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Aqua collapsed on the warm sand, letting the grit flow between her fingers as the setting sun glared red across the waves.

Frankly, she was exhausted.

Only a week ago, Terra had failed his Mark of Mastery, and was devastated. Then that tiny masked brat had ambushed her with a cryptic warning about Terra that was turning out to have been a set-up. She had chased Terra through the worlds, hearing tales of the atrocities he’d committed as he continued to slip through her fingertips. She had learned of that awful Master Xehanort’s plan to force her to fuse with his apprentice and form some kind of ultra powerful keyblade, and her own Master, the man who had raised her like his own daughter, had tried to kill her to prevent it from happening. Terra was fighting him for her sake right now, and she had a sinking feeling that neither possible result of that battle would be one she’d want to face.

She may be a Master, but right now, she felt more like a failure.

She continued to watch the foam drift lazily back and forth across the sand when she heard crunching footsteps and the laughter of children behind her. She turned around and quickly dabbed at her eyes with her sleeves.

Two kids were racing across the island, which she had previously thought was uninhabited, as though they owned the place. Curious, she smoothed her skirt wraps and approached them as they stopped near the dock. The brunette boy was out of breath and scolding the white-haired child, who looked rather smug, but they stopped bickering as they noticed her walking over. She dropped to her knees and considered the two children.

The brunette had brilliant blue eyes that glittered in the evening sun, and a bright energy she could feel even while he stood inquisitively regarding her. The taller one had a sense of quiet strength, and it reminded her immensely of Terra. Or of who Terra used to be, anyway. She shook the thought away and smiled brightly at the two.

“One of you might be special enough,” she found herself saying. What was she thinking, offering these children the keyblade? It had already brought grief and ruin to her life. But it still felt… right, somehow. Something inside her told her that these children needed to become keyblade wielders. Was this destiny? If so, she hated to think what it might have in store for them.

She felt for their hearts. They were both strong enough to wield a keyblade, certainly. To her shock, however, the white-haired one’s heart had already been bequeathed a keyblade. Who would have done that, here in this small, inconsequential world? Was it Terra? Had he been here and felt the same pull she did?

Regardless, if the past week had taught her anything, it was that one keyblade was enough for any friendship. More than enough if she could have her way. But it was too late for these two.

She decided to at least get to know them before leaving. Maybe she would see them again someday, if she survived the night.

“Hey, you two mind telling me your names?”

“I’m Sora,” the shorter boy practically yelled, throwing his hand in the air with a grin as though being called on for attendance. She couldn’t stop herself from giggling a little at the sight. She wished she had a friend as energetic as him.

“And you?”

The other child looked her right in the eye as they answered. “Riku.” Their sincerity really was just like Terra’s. She had always loved that about him; his straightforward and steady nature had fit together perfectly with her caring and cleverness from the first day they’d met. It had felt like they’d always be inseparable, like these two children clearly were.

Where had they gone wrong?

“Sora, do you like Riku?”

“Of course I like them, they’re my best friend!” Just as she’d thought, then. She smiled, a little sadly.

“Good. So then, if something happens, and Riku is about to get lost – or say, they start wandering down a dark path alone – you make sure to stay with them and keep them safe.” _Just like I wish I had done for Terra._ “That’s your job, Sora, and I’m counting on you to do it, okay?”

The kids looked confused, but they nodded at her in agreement. She ruffled their hair and tried to ignore the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. They were so innocent. _Please, don’t end up like us. Don’t abandon each other. Ever._

She asked something that had been on her mind for a while. “Do you two live here, on this little island?”

“Of course not, miss,” Sora chirped, pointing toward the horizon. “We live on the main island over there. We just come here to play.” True to his words, she could see a horizon in the distance and lights starting to blink on in the encroaching darkness. Sora began skipping toward the dock, grabbing Riku’s hand on the way. “My big brother’s gonna pick us up!”

“Your big brother?”

“Yeah, Ven,” Riku replied, looking back over their shoulder. “Y’know, some of the townsfolk claim he just appeared here, on the play island, the day after Sora was born. It’s kinda spooky, especially since they look so alike, don’t you think?”

“Knock it off, Riku!” Riku laughed as Sora tried, unsuccessfully, to push them over. “Mom says it’s just a coincidence!”

“I dunnooo… I think maybe the play island’s haunted! After all, where do you think this lady came from?” Aqua twitched as Sora gasped at her in realization and fear. She’d really been hoping not to have this conversation again, although she figured claiming to be a ghost might actually do the trick here.

Luckily, she was saved from the awkwardness of explaining where she’d come from by a teenage boy pulling up to the dock in a little wooden boat. Ven, as he was apparently called, really was the spitting image of Sora, albeit with a few coloration differences and shorter, less messy hair. He tied the boat to the dock and had barely turned around when the kids ran at him at full force, nearly knocking him over in a hug. “Ven!”

He picked them up and spun them around, laughing and beaming along with them. “Sora, Riku! Did you have fun again today? Build any sandcastles? Eat any coconuts?”

“Ven,” Sora giggled, stumbling sideways from dizziness, “you should come with us tomorrow! We wanna show you our secret place!”

“A secret place? Sounds intriguing.”

“I found it,” Riku boasted, taking the dizziness like a champ but still listing to one side. “There’s a weird door there. We think it might lead to wherever you came from.”

“Don’t be silly, Riku.” Ven ruffled their hair, ignoring their pout of indignation. “I’ve always lived here, with you guys!”

Looking up, he finally noticed Aqua, standing quietly on the sand. “Oh, hello, miss,” he said, with a look of surprise on his face that quickly spread into a smile. “I hope the kids didn’t give you too much trouble.”

“Not at all! They’re absolutely delightful.” She held out her hand for a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Aqua.”

He reached between the kids to take her hand and shook it vigorously. “Likewise! My name is Ventus, but everyone calls me Ven. I’m Sora’s brother, in case you couldn’t tell."

Aqua felt nearly blinded by his light. She had never seen such a pure heart before, except when she’d met Cinderella... Could this boy really be a Princess of Heart? Was that even possible? She probed further and gasped.

“You’re a keyblade wielder?”

He frowned lightly. “Excuse me?” 

Perhaps Aqua had taken the wrong course of action asking him outright. She dropped his hand in embarrassment. “Um, that is...”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what that means.” Aqua had definitely felt a keyblade attached to his heart. Did he not know? How could he have been bequeathed a keyblade without realizing it? This Ventus was getting stranger by the minute.

“Don’t worry, Ven. Miss Aqua says strange things all the time,” Sora interjected with a chuckle. This seemed to only concern Ventus more.

“Where did you say you were from?”

“Oh, I’m a bit of a traveler. I’m not from anywhere around here.” Hopefully that would mollify him enough to prevent further questions, though she had a sinking feeling he didn’t really believe her.

He shook it off anyway as his smile returned and he gave Sora a noogie. “Well, I hope you had fun hanging out with the kids! Say thank you to Miss Aqua, you guys.”

“Thank you, Miss Aqua!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Ventus tried fruitlessly to wrangle the children into the boat. “Will we be seeing you here again, madam traveler? I think the kids would appreciate it.”

“Maybe. I have somewhere else to go first. It might take me a while to make it back.” If she ever did make it back, that is.

“You’re welcome on the island anytime, then. Have a good night!” Sora waved so hard from the boat that Aqua was slightly worried he would fall out, while Riku gave her a subdued thumbs up and Ventus lifted his hand briefly in a farewell gesture with a smile that matched the brightness of his heart. She waved back gently and watched them shrink towards the horizon while the sun continued to set.

What a strange group of kids: three potential keyblade wielders, two of them already bequeathed without seemingly having knowledge of it.

And Ventus was even more of a mystery than the other two. He was practically a Princess of Heart, for crying out loud. Was it true that he had simply appeared one day? Could he be from another world as well? And she just happened to meet all three on this tiny island she hadn’t even come to of her own volition? The collection of coincidences made her head spin.

Aqua was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of a dark corridor opening on the bridge behind her. Great. That was exactly what she needed right now. A visit from the masked menace, Vanitas.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Master Aqua. Fancy meeting you here, of all places.” His voice was low and raspy as always, quiet and nearly emotionless. He stepped from the corridor and plopped down on the bridge, dangling his legs over the side. Aqua wrinkled her nose at the sight. It wasn’t right for him to be acting so... human.

“What exactly are you doing here?”

He pretended to examine his nails for a moment. “Did you know I have a brother?”

She blinked. That was certainly not what Aqua had expected to hear. This creature of darkness had a family? “You do?”

“Yes. He was weak, and the Master left him for dead right here on this island. Amazingly, he seems to have survived, but we’ve scoured the worlds and we can’t find him. Oh, poor Ventus. Where could he be?”

Aqua wisely neglected to mention the probable outworlder and definite keyblade wielder also named Ventus who had left the island not ten seconds before Vanitas himself had appeared.

“And you’re telling me this... why?”

“I did say you were plan B for forming the χ - blade. Ventus was plan A, but due to his unfortunate disappearance, you’ll have to do.” He swung off the bridge and landed in the sand with a loud thump to punctuate his proclamation. He rose to his full height in a way that was probably supposed to be menacing, but the effect was diminished by his distinct lack of height. He probably should have kept the higher ground if he was planning on intimidating her, Aqua thought. She took a step back anyway.

“So what? What makes you think I’ll form the χ - blade with you, anyway?” She glared back at him as best she could. She hesitated to admit it, but Vanitas’ feature-obscuring helmet was rather unnerving. She hated not being able to see his face. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure what she would see if he took it off. Did monsters even have faces?

He cocked his head in a way that made her sure he was smirking at her. “Because if you don’t, Terra will succumb to his darkness and become the new vessel for Master Xehanort. You do still care about Terra, don’t you? Or has he betrayed you, too?”

“What do you mean, betrayed?” She prepared herself to ready her keyblade at any moment. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like where this was going.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Vanitas laughed, a terrible sound Aqua regretted hearing. “Your Master is dead. Terra killed him.”

Aqua’s heart stopped in her chest. “Y-you’re lying,” she stammered in response immediately. He had to be lying. Master Xehanort had lied about everything. And there was no way Terra would ever kill their Master.

...Right?

“Oh, am I, now?” Vanitas practically whispered. She could hear the cruel smile on his lips.

“You’re lying!” She refused to believe it. “Terra would never -“

“Not even for your sake?”

Aqua’s breath caught at the sting of his words. Terra would do practically anything for her sake, as long as it didn’t involve eating sugar. But would he really go so far as to kill their Master just to protect her? Had he really changed that much since failing the Mark of Mastery?

No.

No, this was Terra they were talking about, the sweet, strong boy who had been like a brother to her since they were children. Terra, who swung his keyblade with only the intention of protecting the ones he loved. Terra, whose quiet smile warmed her heart and made her feel safe. Even if he was struggling with the darkness right now, there was no way he had become someone entirely different, no matter what Vanitas said. She remembered Terra’s back as he blocked the Master’s attack. Despite the circumstances, it had felt the same as it always had, an unmoving and unfailing shield.

She had been wrong. He hadn’t changed at all.

Aqua summoned her keyblade and raised it, pointing it directly at Vanitas. He flinched back almost imperceptibly. Good. He should be scared of her.

Her expression hardened. “Terra won’t succumb to the darkness. And I won’t let you freaks drag him along that path any longer.”

Vanitas paused for a minute, regarding Aqua, then summoned another dark corridor and turned his back to her. “So you do still have hope, I see. Fine, then. Come to the Keyblade Graveyard.” He stepped through, his voice echoing behind him. “We’ll be waiting.”

Once the dark corridor had disappeared completely, Aqua exhaled and banished her keyblade. She would have to deal with Vanitas at least once more before this ordeal was over, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. She couldn’t even begin to fathom what he had meant by Ventus being his brother. It certainly explained why so many things about Ventus had seemed so strange, although it raised more questions than it answered. Unfortunately, it was unlikely she would ever see the boy again, so she put her curiosity away for another time.

For now, she removed her wayfinder from its spot at her waist and studied it. “An unbreakable connection”, she had said. She had based her wayfinders off of a legend about star-shaped fruit, and how sharing it with someone would keep them in your life forever. Looking back at the shore, she noticed a tree with yellow fruit of a peculiar shape hanging in it. Perhaps she had come to this island for a reason after all.

She held the glass star up to the setting sun, where it glinted blue and orange.

“I’m coming, Terra. I won’t leave you to suffer alone in the darkness anymore.”

No matter what, she wouldn’t turn back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made an illustration for this scene [here!](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187142587445/an-illustration-for-chapter-two-of-my-fic-ten)  



	3. Chapter 3

This sucked.

This totally sucked.

Vanitas had completely failed to forge the χ - blade with Aqua. He’d had three vicious clashes against her, but not a bit of the elusive weapon had ever bothered to show up to the party. She’d beaten him handily and flew off to Radiant Garden to destroy the last remnants of the Master within Terra. He’d followed her, but by the time he’d arrived at the city of light, she had disappeared, leaving in her place a completely amnesiac Xehanort (or Ansem, whatever he was calling himself now) and nothing left for Vanitas to do. He had been hanging around Radiant Garden for months now, waiting for something to happen. It was awful.

And, worst of all, he was still alive.

This was all that idiot Ventus’ fault. If he had been around to forge the χ - blade correctly, none of this nonsense would have occurred. But he’d searched dozens of worlds, and checked Destiny Islands plenty of times, and he hadn’t seen neither hide nor hair of his stupid brother. He couldn’t be dead, since Vanitas could still feel his disgusting joy through their connection periodically, but if he hadn’t found whatever world Ventus was happily squirreled away on by now, he probably never would. He sometimes got the urge to visit Destiny Islands again, just to make extra sure Ventus wasn’t there, but that was ridiculous. He’d been to that insufferable island so many times, and it wasn’t even that big. Tiny, really. There was no possible way he’d missed Ventus. That, he was sure of.

Still, it could be worse. At least with the Master’s memory gone, he didn’t have anyone breathing down his neck anymore and was free to do whatever he pleased, which turned out to be a whole lot of nothing. He had tried terrorizing the town with his Unversed for a few weeks, but the horribly boring residents mostly ignored them and went about their business. He couldn’t find any reason why it would be worth it to continue. It was easier to just hang around most of the time.

That was exactly what Vanitas was doing right now, perched on the roof of the abandoned house he slept in, eating a sandwich some old lady had left out for him. He hated taking charity, but he supposed it would go to waste otherwise. And most of the people in this town didn’t seem to care if he stole food, so it wasn’t even any fun. Except for when he nicked a bar of ice cream. It would send that duck into a hysterical quacking fit that had Vanitas chuckling just thinking about it. He thought he could go for some dessert today.

He quickly finished his sandwich and put his helmet back on, then hopped down to street level and crept his way through the shadows of the alleyway. It was highly unnecessary, even for a food snatching mission, but it was a habit by this point.

Really, though, he thought, there wasn’t anything keeping him in this world other than boredom and a twisted sense of loyalty toward a Master that didn’t remember him. Nobody took him seriously anymore, and there was certainly nobody who would miss him, not even the Master if he came back to his senses. He could always just lea -

An arm clasped itself around his shoulders and he froze in spite of his urge to run. “Hey there, kiddo. Nice to see you out and about.”  
Vanitas didn’t particularly care for any of the Master’s new lackeys - even that Ienzo kid was kind of creepy - but Braig was by far the worst. He was the only one that had been with the Master since before he became a Terra vegetable. And he was the only person (the dumb mouse didn’t count) in all the worlds right now who knew who Vanitas was, where he came from. It was inconvenient, to say the least. And his eyepatch made him look like an idiotic pirate.

“What do you want, Braig?”

He laughed his stupid breathy laugh and led Vanitas back into the alley. On the way, he kicked the little Hareraiser created from Vanitas’ momentary panic at having his personal space invaded, killing it. Vanitas hissed and pried Braig’s hand off his shoulder.

“Easy there, tiger. I just happened to be in the area - “ Vanitas had no doubt that he had waited in this alley specifically to ambush him when he left his makeshift shelter - “and seeing you reminded me that I might have a little job for you.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Yeah. I need you to watch a kid for me. I’d do it myself, but I really ain’t got the time.”

Vanitas scoffed. “You want me to babysit? No way.”

“It’s not a babysitting gig; you just gotta watch her, I promise. Not like you were doing much else, eh, kid?”

“I said no. Lay off.”

Braig’s hand fell heavy on his shoulder again. He was suddenly very aware of a wall against his back. Braig raised one eyebrow. “...Y’know, just cause ol’ ‘Norty went and hit his head don’t mean you’re off the hook, right?”

Vanitas mentally cursed himself. Of course he wouldn’t be let go so easily. He didn’t dignify Braig’s question with a response.

Braig tapped his chin as if considering something. “Say, how’d forging that χ - blade thing go, again? Didn’t that Aqua chick totally mess you up?”

Vanitas hated to admit it, but Aqua had nearly killed him at the end. He’d only barely had enough power to open a dark corridor to Radiant Garden before he’d collapsed. His Unversed were still too weak to do much more than scare old people and cause minor property damage, which was why the townsfolk were ignoring them. He’d been in pain for weeks too, of course, but he hardly cared. He’d had worse.

“...What’s it to you?”

“I’m just sayin’,” Braig said nonchalantly, “you’re certainly acting as though you have a choice here. But to me, it seems like maybe a little babysitting job is all you’re really capable of, Vanitas.”

He tried to keep his Unversed in check. They would only be a nuisance right now. “Spare me,” he spat. “I’m not a babysitter.”

Braig snickered. “Well, if you were looking for other options...” He leaned down until he was staring Vanitas straight in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low and humorless, but the smile never left his face. It sent a chill down Vanitas’ spine.

“Little mister Xehanort’s been watching you for a while now. I’m sure he’d love to have a new lab assistant. Especially one as... interesting as you.” He reached his other hand out to touch Vanitas’ mask.

Vanitas slapped his hand away immediately. “Are you threatening me?” He was glad for the mask obscuring his face, but his shaky voice betrayed him. There was no way in the Realm of Darkness he was ever getting involved with the Master’s twisted “experiments” again. Not after the last time had literally split him in two.

He quickly judged his options. It would be easy enough to escape through a dark corridor, but Braig’s hand was still gripping his shoulder, and who knew what he was capable of -

Suddenly Braig laughed so hard he was practically howling, slapping his knee and wiping tears out of his eyes. Vanitas cringed. This was much worse than when he was trying to be scary.

“Oh, that was great, you thought I was serious!” He finally let go of Vanitas and slapped him on the arm instead. “I’m just messin’ with ya, kiddo.”

Vanitas extricated himself from between Braig and the back wall of the alley. “Great. What a laugh.” He squished another Hareraiser under his boot and winced.

“Her name’s Kairi. She’s the granddaughter of that lady who works in the castle’s library, you’ve probably seen her before. She usually hangs around in front of the castle gates. Little redhead, wears purple, you’ll find her.” Braig began retreating to the street, talking over his shoulder as he went. “I just need you to keep an eye on her until further notice. Thanks for the help, kiddo!” He waved his goodbye and disappeared around the corner.

Vanitas watched him go with contempt in his eyes. The shadows of the alley were cold, and the cloying scent of flowers made him feel like he was suffocating.

He should’ve known his freedom was too good to be true.

-

Vanitas found the girl right where Braig said she would be, in the plaza outside the castle gate. She couldn’t have been older than four or five, and yet she was running around unattended. Props to the kid for showing independence, he supposed.

He settled in a tree and waited.

It was immediately apparent that his charge was a Princess of Heart. Her light was so strong as to be almost nauseating, even at a distance of at least thirty feet. Vanitas found himself considering whether she might be a worthy candidate for forging the χ - blade, but stopped that train of thought after approximately half a second. Even he wasn’t desperate enough to try and throw hands with a little girl.

Other than that, the little girl - what was her name again, Carrie? - wasn’t particularly interesting. She picked flowers, sorted flowers, sang about flowers. Most of her play routine revolved around flowers, as Vanitas was starting to find out. He wasn’t even sure whether she was allowed to be picking these flowers. The guards certainly got ornery if he ever so much as looked at one of the millions of flowers in the city the wrong way. But he supposed if anyone was to be an exception, it would be a Princess.

Was this really what Braig wanted him to do? Watch some Princess of Heart dance around a courtyard for hours on end because her grandma was too busy to do it? It was incredibly dull. No wonder Braig wanted to foist the job off on him.

After a few more hours of shifting around the tree trying to find a comfortable sitting position, Vanitas was bored out of his mind. How did the little girl get this much enjoyment out of some dumb flowerbeds? He stewed in irritation for a few minutes before he noticed a decent sized Flood had formed and made its way into the courtyard. The girl, however, still had her back to it as it scurried its way towards her.

Finally, something interesting.

As she noticed the strange sound behind her, she turned around and gasped, dropping the bouquet she had gathered. Her eyes followed the Flood’s twitching, writhing movements as it prepared to attack. Vanitas expected her to scream, or run away, or maybe even faint.  
Instead, she made a soft cooing noise and reached out to pet the Flood. Its antennae flicked back and forth in confusion, but it let her touch it and even scooted closer. Vanitas was flabbergasted. Could this get any more idiotic?

“Aww, you’re so cute!” She was scratching it behind the antennae now and, even worse, the flood seemed to be enjoying it. Completely unacceptable. “Grandma says you’re scary, but I think you’re just like a cat!”

That was the last straw.

He scrambled out of the tree and stormed across the courtyard. The little girl looked up, surprised, as he approached. “Oh, hello, I’m Kairi! Is this your cat?”

He roughly grabbed the Flood out of her arms and looked her directly in the eyes.

“It is _not_. A cat.”

Then he turned on his heel and walked straight home, leaving a confused Kairi, completely unattended again, behind him.

Screw Braig.

-

Despite the aforementioned screwing of the aforementioned Braig, he found himself lounging in the same tree the next day. He figured he didn’t have anything much better to be doing. And if he was still nervous about Braig making good on his threat to turn him over to Xehanort, well, that was his business.

So he got to work keeping an eye on Kairi. Which turned out to be just as boring as yesterday.

Until, of course, he lost sight of her. Perfect. Braig would kill him at this rate. He scoured the courtyard as best he could from his tree, but there was no sign of her. He felt himself starting to panic when he heard a noise from below him.

There she was, having apparently wandered toward the tree he was in. He stayed very quiet, although he knew she wouldn’t be able to find him. If there was one thing he had learned from living in a city full of rooftops and trees, it was that nobody ever looked up.

... Except Kairi, apparently.

“Hello, mister!”

Maybe if he ignored her, she would go away.

“My grandma says she doesn’t like you!”

He sighed and looked down to find her big, purple eyes shining innocently up at him. Nothing was going his way today. “What do you want, kid?”

“Sorry for petting your cat thing without permission yesterday, mister!”

“It’s called a Flood.”

“What a cute name!”

“It’s not supposed to be cute! Leave me alone.”

She cocked her head. “Why? What are you doing up there?”

“Nothing.” This kid was persistent, he’d give her that.

“Why do you want me to leave you alone if you’re not doing anything?”

Vanitas dropped out of the tree, landing right in front of her. He towered over her, which wasn’t surprising since she was so young. He scowled. “Because I said so, kid.”

She stared at him for a moment, seemingly unfazed, then turned around and ran away without a word. Good. Maybe now he could do his job in peace.  
He was about to climb back up the tree when she came skipping over, a bunch of tiny red flowers in her hands. She held them out to him and smiled. “These are for you, to say sorry for yesterday. They look like you!”

“.....”

When he didn’t make any move to take them, she set them on the ground by his feet and hurried off to get back to her playing, humming all the while.  
Vanitas bent down to examine the pile of tiny rose buds. What a waste. They would never bloom now that they’d been picked. They were useless.

And as he went home that night with the collection of buds held carefully in his fist, he told himself he was just cleaning up some useless junk.

-

Vanitas’ daily stint in the courtyard became infinitely less boring after he discovered the castle library. It was open to the public, and they’d theoretically let him take any books he wanted as long as he returned them. Although visiting tended to earn him some confused looks from the palace guards and a permanent stink eye from Kairi’s grandmother, nobody made a fuss, so he borrowed books regularly. Pretty much any book would do. Since he’d never had a formal education that he could remember and the Master had never seen fit to teach him about anything than combat and Kingdom Hearts, it was all equally new to him.

He would swing by the library each morning to grab a few books, then settle under his tree in the courtyard and read all day while watching Kairi. The little redhead would occasionally bring him flowers, which he never touched while she was looking. Best not to give the impression that he cared about her or anything. This was just a job, after all, and one that he didn’t want to do.

It was on one such day that Vanitas was reading a field guide about plants, most of which he knew little about, having grown up in a desert. The book had delicate scientific illustrations of each type of flower, grass, and fern in the world of Radiant Garden. He was having trouble reading the tiny handwritten notes beside one picture, and his dark visor was only making matters worse. With a huff, he removed the stupid helmet and set it in the grass beside him. He heard a gasp and looked over to see a shocked Kairi drop the daisies she’d been bringing him. She had a bad habit of dropping things when surprised, as Vanitas had noticed.

He frowned at her dubiously. This was probably the first time she’d seen his face. He knew yellow eyes with slit pupils and pointed ears weren’t exactly normal human features. Was she scared of him?

“...What is it?”

Was it the scars?

“Your ears... they’re pointy!”

His ear twitched. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he could guess. “Yeah. Creepy, aren’t they?”

She shook her head vigorously, a glint in her eyes. “No, they’re cute! They make you look like a cat!”

Vanitas was caught completely off guard at the reaction, but at the same time, he couldn’t say he was overly surprised. “You think everything looks like a cat, Kairi.”

“Yeah, but you _really_ look like a cat.”

“I’m not a cat,” he grumbled, pulling his book back out. Unfortunately, Kairi wasn’t done with the conversation and plopped down on the grass beside him. He groaned and put the book down. “What?”

“Why do you wear that helmet all the time? Doesn’t it hurt your ears? They look like they move around a lot.” She demonstrated by poking at his ear, which flicked away from her finger.

“It does hurt. I just deal with it. It’s more important that people don’t see my face.” Vanitas couldn’t begin to fathom why he was being so honest with this little girl. He was sure her light was infecting him somehow, if that was even possible.

“But why? Do you not like your face?”

He couldn’t even begin to explain the mess of reasons why. “Sort of. It’s... complicated.”

Kairi kicked at the grass while contemplating him. “Well, I like your face. You’re really pretty, mister.”

“Th-thanks.”

There he was, sitting in a courtyard full of flowers, stammering his thanks to a little girl who’d called him pretty. There was something very wrong with him. He was going soft.

He shoved his helmet back on.

He snapped his book open and got back to reading, ignoring the handwritten notes this time. They weren’t worth the effort.

Kairi wasn’t quite done with him yet, though. “By the way, mister, what’s your name?”

“Why would you want to know?” He pointedly didn’t look at her.

“Because you’ve been hanging out with me for weeks now and I’m still calling you ‘mister’. My grandma says that kind of thing is rude.”

He turned the page.

“... It’s Vanitas.”

“That’s a nice name!”

“It’s a terrible name.”

“... Oh. Okay.”

He ignored her as she picked at the grass awkwardly. Eventually she gave up and ran back to her flowerbeds. Vanitas couldn’t care less to see her go.

He brought her daisies home with him anyway.

-

The news rang through the town in the early morning. Ansem and the other denizens of the castle had disappeared without a trace.

Spurred on by fear, the townspeople began to talk about the things they had kept quiet over the past year. The missing relatives. The screams at night. The other strays, like Vanitas, who were brought to the castle and never heard from again. It made Vanitas’ stomach turn just to think about it. But one thought kept racing through his mind as he stood staring at the castle from the roof of a nearby building.

_The Master had left him behind?_

By noon, he had gotten tired of wandering the streets aimlessly, people whispering behind his back wherever he went. He stumbled to the outer gardens, which were abandoned by virtue of the people congregating in the town square and cautiously examining the castle instead. The sky was a harsh blue, too bright as always. He stared at it as he considered what his next move should be.

This city had been his prison, albeit one partially of his own making, for an entire year now. He had only lived in the hopes that one day the Master would remember him and give him purpose again. Now the Master was gone.

What did he have left?

That was when he heard it. The horrible sound of hundreds, thousands of creatures clicking and twisting and shuddering in a horrifying unison. He watched the city walls in awe as hordes of monsters poured over them, a veritable wave of darkness crashing over the city.

Heartless. A countless number of them. Radiant Garden was finished.

It was clear that this was a planned attack. He wasn’t sure who could be at the helm, but they had taken advantage of the vacuum in leadership to raid the city. There was no way for the townspeople to rally in time to drive them back. A few might be lucky and escape somehow, but most if not all of the residents would have their hearts stolen and be turned into heartless themselves by day’s end. It was inevitable.

And what did Vanitas care? This wasn’t his city. He was a stranger here, and those who had shown him kindness had only done so out of a distorted sense of self-righteousness. He didn’t deserve their pity, and he didn’t need it. He certainly didn’t owe them anything back. He was about to make a dark corridor going anywhere else when he remembered.

Kairi.

Vanitas dashed through the streets, ignoring the screams behind him. He left a group of Bruisers behind at the outer gardens, more out of instinct than anything, as they wouldn’t be able to slow down the Heartless wave for more than a few seconds. Any amount of Unversed he created would never be enough, but he shed them as he ran anyways, Axe Flappers and Hareraisers and Red Hot Chilis. They were cut down in mere moments by the Heartless at his heels, sending streaks of pain through his vision while he was desperately searching.

Where could Kairi be? The courtyard? She didn’t live there, obviously, and her grandmother probably hadn’t left her alone there on a day like this, but it was his best shot.

As he skirted around the town square, he saw the people inside being devoured by Heartless. It was a sickening sight, watching the citizens get completely overwhelmed by the encroaching darkness, their shrieks lost to the void as their hearts tore away from their bodies and ascended toward Kingdom Hearts, only to be pounced on and trampled by the giant mass of monsters.

Even a being of pure darkness like himself could only pray for the Light to save them.

He heard a familiar voice scream as he skidded into the courtyard area.

“Grandma!”

Kairi was huddled near their tree, crying and trembling as she stared in terror at the Heartless around her. No doubt her grandmother had already been overcome by them. But there wasn’t any time to mourn. The Shadows would be briefly held back by her light, but they were also attracted to it like crazed moths. She had maybe a minute at most.

“Kairi!”

“Vanitas?” She clung to the tree, looking completely lost, tears pouring from her eyes. Vanitas couldn’t believe he’d almost left her behind. “What’s going on?”

“Just hang on!” Without thinking, he summoned his keyblade. He hacked and slashed his way through as many Heartless as he could, keeping movement speed his priority as he fought his way through the courtyard. It was nearly enough to dry Kairi’s tears as she stared at him in wonder. “What is that? Is that a sword?”

“Not right now, kid.” He finally broke through the line of Shadows surrounding her. She sniffled as she ran into his arms, and he stood up with her on his hip as he prepared to open a dark corridor. It didn’t matter where they went. Anywhere was better than here.

Suddenly, something heavy collided with his back, forcing him to drop Kairi, who screamed as she was grabbed by a Heartless and tossed aside to a group of impatient Shadows. “Vanitas!”

He looked up as he got to his knees, and he was twelve again, refusing to fight for his life as the Master looked on in disappointment.

Neoshadows.

He froze, his half-heart beating quick and loud in his ears. No, no, no no no he wasn’t ready for this!

_Master, please!_

He barely heard Kairi’s screams as the Neoshadows pounced on him, their long arms tearing again and again at his back, his side, forcing him to the ground in pain. He watched in horror, unable to move, as Kairi reached out to him in vain from the mass of Heartless and began to glow, her necklace shining like a star. She disappeared in a flash.

Vanitas stared in shock. She was gone.

He wailed into the uncaring darkness as the attack redoubled. She’d called him pretty, and said his name was nice. She’d given him flowers. The only person in all the worlds who truly cared about him, and she was gone.

But maybe not for good. Instead of her heart being devoured by the Shadows, he felt it fly away with a clear destination. What was this? Could he still save her?

His arms shuddered as he picked up Void Gear, swinging weakly at the Neoshadows, just enough to create a pocket of space in which to form a dark corridor. He dove through without hesitation.

The corridor was dark, as the name implies, but the world outside of it was almost darker, a cloudy night obscuring the stars. The silence in the absence of the noise of hundreds of Heartless was deafening, but he barely noticed as he searched desperately for Kairi. There she was, stretched out and sleeping peacefully on the sand. Thank Kingdom Hearts.

He grabbed her tiny hand as he collapsed beside her, thankful for his helmet keeping the sand out of his eyes.

The sound of the waves was the last thing Vanitas heard as he settled into unconsciousness.

“... Hey........ you....... kay...?”

He woke up to the sun blazing in his eyes, even from behind his visor. Everything hurt. His eyes tried to adjust, but a large shape was blocking most of his vision. Was that a face?

“Hey, are you okay?”

His vision cleared, and looking at him in concern was a face, all right. A very, very familiar face.

_His_ face.

Ventus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a [picture](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187186367710/an-illustration-for-chapter-three-of-my-fanfic) for this chapter too! I'm very proud of it!  



	4. Chapter 4

Ventus woke up to the sound of seagulls, as he always had. He stretched the stiffness out of his back and rolled out of bed to face the day, one just like any other.

He tried fruitlessly to style his baby-blonde hair, which always managed to keep a windswept look about it no matter what he did. He kissed his exhausted mom on the cheek as she got ready for work, promising to bring the kids home after school, and helped his little brother Sora pick out an outfit.

“Which shirt is your favorite?”

“Hmmm....” Ventus pretended to consider the three identical button-up shirts, then pointed to the one Sora was already wearing. “That one! The buttons are a bit... unconventional, though. Need some help?” Sora pouted as Ventus redid his buttons the right way.

Then they each grabbed a bagel from their mom as they headed out the door, backtracking briefly to retrieve Sora’s absent backpack.

“Don’t forget, you have band practice tomorrow! I’ll pick up the kids for you.”

“Thanks, Mom!”

“Bye, Mom!”

“Have a good day at school, boys.”

Sora blew a big kiss back at her. “We will!”

They raced down the street like the wind, Ventus hanging back significantly to let Sora win. Sora huffed, half from a lack of breath and half from annoyance, as he made his way up the stairs to Riku’s house. “How come you never win, Ven? You’re the fastest kid on the island.”

Ventus laughed, barely out of breath. “I guess that just means you‘re even faster!”

They waited a few minutes after ringing the doorbell. They heard shouting from the other side as Riku ran to open the door.

“ - to school, Dad! It doesn’t matter right now!” They struggled to tie their shoes while Sora hopped from foot to foot impatiently.

“Good morning, Riku.”

“Morning, Ven. You okay, Sora?”

“C’mon, Riku, we gotta get to school before it starts so we can race on the monkey bars again!” He waved his arms up and down animatedly. “If we wait until recess, Selphie will just beat both of us again, and that’s no fun!”

“Dang it, you’re right!” They got up with one shoe still untied, grabbed their backpack, and jumped down the stairs before Ventus could object. “I bet I’ll beat you there, though!”

“Not with only one shoe tied, you won’t!” Ventus caught up to Riku and finished tying their other shoe while they blushed in embarrassment.

“I’m old enough to tie my own shoes, y’know...”

“Then do it before you start running!”

Sora got a head start of about fifty feet while shoe-tying shenanigans were taking place. He cupped his hands around his mouth as he yelled back down the street. “At this rate I’ll be able to take a nap while I wait for you, Riku!”

“Hey, that’s not fair! Ven was slowing me down!” They ran full tilt after Sora, who yelped and sprinted away. Ventus followed at a more normal pace, keeping an eye on them as the two reached the school and wildly flailed about on the monkey bars.

He closed his eyes and breathed deep as the salty morning breeze ruffled his hair. He couldn’t imagine having ever lived a life any different than this one.

As a senior in high school, Ventus was finishing up the last few graduation requirements while preparing to go to the community college next year. He had several free periods, which he used to take band, in which he was a semi-decent flute player, and track, where he was the fastest sprinter, although longer races eluded him due to poor constitution. He breezed through language class and struggled through calculus before the day was finally over.

He walked to the elementary wing to pick up Sora and Riku, but as he arrived, he heard sniffling from his brother, who was looking at the floor morosely. Riku stared fiercely into the middle distance as though daring it to start something, and Ventus could see they had a black eye.

Sora grabbed his hand without a word and started walking. Riku strode beside them with their hands in their pockets as they stared daggers at everyone walking down the street.

Ventus let them both stew until they were out of sight of the school, at which point he turned around to fret over Sora while Riku stood guard. Sora’s eyes were bloodshot from crying, but physically he seemed fine.

He sighed. “What happened?”

“Tidus called Sora a girl,” Riku practically growled.

“What?”

Sora looked like he was about to start crying again. “I was playing catch with Wakka, and he said I throw like a girl, and Tidus said it’s because I _am_ a girl, and Riku punched him in the face!”

“Then Wakka punched me in the eye and we all got in trouble with the teachers.” Riku clenched their tiny fists and gritted their teeth in anger. “I’m gonna wear a skirt tomorrow and I’m gonna play catch with Wakka and tell him to catch with his face. Then we’ll see how well girls can throw!”

“That’s... quite the plan, Riku,” Ventus said hesitantly. “But maybe you should just leave Wakka alone. Did he and Tidus say they’re sorry?”

Sora rubbed at his eyes and took a shuddering breath as Ventus ruffled his hair. “Selphie threatened to slap them if they didn’t.”

“Tidus said he was just trying to be funny. But it totally wasn’t! It was just mean!” Riku could barely contain their fury. Ventus ruffled their hair too as they sulked.

“Tidus definitely shouldn’t have said that. You’re a boy because you want to be, Sora, and nobody gets to tell you differently. But if he said sorry, you should try to forgive him. I’m sure he still wants to be your friend. People are just mean on accident sometimes.”

“You’re lucky, Ven. Nobody’s ever mean to you.”

Sora meant well, but Ventus smiled sadly. It was true that people weren’t mean to him, exactly, but he was mostly ignored. Most of the kids on the island had known each other since birth and had already formed tightly knit friend groups by the time he’d started school. There was no room for a stranger here. Even after five years, he couldn’t say with confidence that he had any real friends.

But he had a family, and he had a feeling that was more than he’d ever had before. So he was okay.

They walked Riku home in an uncomfortable silence, but Sora gave Riku a hug at the threshold and that seemed to cheer them both up. They decided to meet up and go to the play island after changing and eating dinner. They were still too young to be allowed to take the boat by themselves, so Ventus would have to take them, but he didn’t mind.

Sora skipped all the way home, smiling as though nothing had happened. Ventus was glad for his emotional impermanence.

A few hours later, Ventus was rowing the two kids out to the play island. Riku pointed out different kinds of fish in the shallow water, while Sora made up names for them.

“I like this stripy orange one. What do you think, Sora?”

“Hmm... I think we should call it the Orange Stripe Fish.”

“That’s so lame. What about this white one? Its fins almost look like wings.”

“That one’s name is Donald!”

“That’s even worse!”

The boat brushed up against the beach and Ventus tied it to the dock before lifting the kids out onto the sand. Sora immediately jumped back into the water and tried to splash Ventus, who shrieked in mock terror and shielded his face with his arms against the vicious attack. “Hey! I’ve got calc homework to do after this and mom won’t let me in the house if I’m all wet!”

Sora giggled and followed Riku, who had already begun dashing towards the secret place. Ventus watched fondly as they disappeared into the depths of the island together.

He gazed out at the sea as the bright sun slowly descended from its place in the sky. He knew he still had homework to do, but it was for his least favorite class anyway and the island was so peaceful like this. He sat down on the sand and listened to the quiet waves.

Inexplicably, he felt a small impulse to go to the other side of the island. He couldn’t think of a good reason to actually do so, other than maybe a better view, and he needed to leave soon, so he ignored it and stood up, walking towards the boat.

He was about to untie it when the urge returned, stronger this time. He _needed_ to get to the other side of the island, right now.

What was going on?

Curious, Ventus made his way through the passage towards the far side of the play island. He squinted as he emerged into the sunlight, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Trying to get a better vantage point, he climbed the wooden platforms until he reached the top of the makeshift zipline.

Suddenly, he saw them: a boy about his size and a little girl lying unconscious on the edge of the beach, the sea foam lapping at their feet.

He jumped from the top of the zipline tower and rolled to his feet, sprinting as quickly as he could. “Hey!” He called towards them, countless questions in his mind. Were they hurt? Where had they come from? There hadn’t been any other boats at the dock. He remembered the rumors of his own unusual appearance five years ago. Was it happening again somehow? “Are you guys okay?”

Ventus dropped to his knees beside the boy, who was holding the little girl’s hand gently. He was wearing some kind of red and black full-body suit with a skirt attached. It was the strangest thing Ventus had ever seen. He definitely wasn’t from around here.

Ventus carefully detached him from the girl and rolled him onto his back, leaving behind dark bloodstains in the sand. Ventus’ pulse quickened. This boy was hurt, badly. “Hey, are you okay?”

The boy wore a black helmet that completely obscured his face, so Ventus couldn’t even tell if he was awake or not until he stiffened and hissed under his breath.

“You!”

He scrambled to his feet, placing himself between Ventus and the little girl. He let out a shaky laugh, low and hoarse.

“Ventus! So you _were_ hiding here, brother! I should’ve known.”

Ventus was too stunned to reply. Brother? He’d never even seen this boy before.

There was a flash, and suddenly the masked boy was holding a strange weapon covered in gears and chains. He held it over his head like a sword, although his hand was trembling. “Ready yourself!”

Ventus barely dodged out of the way of his first strike. It hit the beach, spraying sand high into the air. Ventus closed his eyes on reflex and got a boot to the chest for his trouble. He stumbled back and fell, the weapon’s wild swing just missing his head as he went down.

He slammed into the ground hard on his side, his ankle twisting underneath him. Struggling to his feet, and wincing as he did so, he did his best to run away.

“What are you doing, Ventus?” The boy called after him mockingly, although he was already breathing hard. “Summon your keyblade and fight with me!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Ventus landed wrong on his bad ankle and gasped as he faltered.

As he looked over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being pursued, the masked boy dropped out of the air right behind him, bringing the pommel of his keyblade down on the side of Ventus’ head.

“Suffer!”

Ventus barely felt himself drop to the sand, his ears ringing and head throbbing. The other boy fell on top of him, plunging his keyblade into the ground beside Ventus’ head. He chuckled weakly, shoulders heaving, as Ventus felt blood drip down his cheek.

“Pathetic. No wonder our master abandoned you.”

His voice sounded far away, almost like he was talking to himself.

He shook his head and refocused his attention on Ventus, poison in his voice. “You can’t even summon your keyblade, can you?”

“... key...?” Ventus’ head was full of searing pain. He could barely see, much less think.

“The _keyblade_, Ventus. ‘The greatest weapon of all, bound to your very heart, such that you can never truly lose it.’ Tell me that rings a bell _somewhere_ in your dull head. We’ve recited it dozens of times.”

“I... don’t...” He glanced at the masked boy’s weapon, the keyblade, that was currently scraping his cheek. His vision cleared slightly as it made contact with a large blue eye embedded in the shaft.

_The disapproving stare of the Master, a blade held high above his chest, immeasurable anguish._

What was he remembering? The sun was too bright. It burned him.

The keyblade was removed as the masked boy grabbed him by his collar and hoisted him up until they were face to face. “Our very _purpose_ is to form the χ - blade, and here you are, telling me you forgot even the most basic fundamentals.”

Ventus’ brain refused to parse any of this information. “... you’re not... making any sense...”

The other boy scoffed. “Of course not.” His voice lowered to a sarcastic murmur and his grip on Ventus’ shirt slackened. “How could I have ever split off from such a feeble being?”

Ventus thought he heard a noise like footsteps across packed sand, but he couldn’t even turn his head to look at the source. He might have been imagining it.

“Frankly, I wonder how you even survived this long.” The masked boy raised his keyblade over his head again, his grip tightening despite the continuing tremor in his hands. “Want me to fix that for you, brother?”

It was at that moment that Riku came flying at the boy, their fist colliding with his side, causing him to recoil in pain and drop his keyblade, which shattered into nothingness as it hit the ground. Riku spread their arms wide and stood resolutely between him and Ventus.

“_Get away from him_.”

The masked boy picked himself up and got very quiet as he turned towards Riku. “Stay out of this, kid.”

Riku refused to move, planting their feet in the sand as Ventus gingerly wiped the blood off his face. He had no doubt they were scowling at the other boy, their gaze boring into his very soul with fiery resistance.

The boy finally let out a shuddering laugh, getting slowly to his feet while clutching at his side. “Fine. You win today. But I’ll be back for you, Ventus. You _will_ forge the χ - blade with me. It is our destiny.”

“Go away,” Riku snarled. “I won’t let you touch Ven ever again.”

The boy hissed right back. “You don’t have a choice in the matter, kid. But...” He gazed towards where Ventus knew the little redheaded girl lay, forgotten on the other side of the beach in the chaos. The boy’s words were uncharacteristically gentle.

“Please. Take care of her.”

Then he disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brush made a comic for this chapter as I was working on chapter three and I will be the first to say I shamelessly stole her dialogue! Don't believe her when she says she took artistic liberties cause [this](https://brushstrokesapocalyptic.tumblr.com/post/187227264094/ten-minutes-too-late-by-alangdorf-is-real-good) came first!  



	5. Chapter 5

Riku had left the secret place on a whim. That was the scariest part. They almost hadn’t heard Ven’s yelling from the other side of the island and ran to investigate.

And if they had been even a minute later, Ven might be dead.

They helped him up to a sitting position as Sora finally came their way. He gasped and started running when he saw them.

“Ven!” He nearly tripped and fell headfirst into Riku, but managed to catch himself on their shoulder, knocking them both backwards into the sand.

“Watch it, Sora!”

“Sorry!”

While they were both spluttering, trying not to swallow sand, Riku giggled in spite of themselves. Typical Sora.

Ven watched them in amusement, though he looked dazed. Sora evidently remembered his reason for running into Riku in the first place, his eyes going wide with worry as he caught sight of his brother.

“Are you okay, Ven? What happened?”

Ven scratched his head, wincing. “There was a boy, he said... he... did... did he try to kill me?” He frowned, as if it were just now sinking in.

“He did, Ven!” Riku leaned forward, their face hardening. “He was gonna stab you with his keyblade if I hadn’t punched him!”

“Well... this was a definitely a situation in which it was okay to punch someone. Thank you, Riku.” Riku nodded while wiping their hand on their pants. There was still some dried blood stuck to it. The boy with the keyblade had definitely been injured, which was unsurprising. Despite Riku’s best efforts, they were only six and a punch from them wouldn’t normally have deterred a grown teenager. They must have reopened a wound. Yet more luck on their part, they guessed.

Sora looked extremely confused. “What’s a keyblade?”

“It’s a big sword that looks like a key,” Riku explained deftly. Seeing the surprised looks on their two companion’s faces, they slapped a hand over their own mouth. They were supposed to be keeping their encounter with that man from the outside world a secret. “Oops.”

“Riku, you... know what a keyblade is?” Ven’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out why. Riku couldn’t think of a good excuse, but Sora came to their rescue.

“Didn’t that lady from last year say something about that?” Ven’s face lit up in recognition.

“Yes, Aqua, I think her name was. She called me a keyblade wielder?”

“And it’s pretty obvious just from the name that it’s a big key-shaped sword, so...” Riku surreptitiously wiped their forehead in relief. Crisis averted.

Riku’s burst of improbable knowledge seemingly forgotten, Ven looked over to the horizon. “I wonder if she ever came back? Does she know that boy somehow?”

More than likely, they were both from the outside world, too. And if the boy was from the outside world, that meant... “Hey, didn’t he say something about a girl? Did she come here with him?”

Sora jumped to his feet and scanned the beach, spotting the little girl’s form lying near the edge of the water. “Oh! I see her!” He sprinted over while Riku helped Ven to his feet.

He managed a few steps before he came down hard on his bad ankle, stumbling to the ground. Riku frowned. He wasn’t making any move to get back up. “Ven?”

“I’ll be fine. You go with Sora.” Ven smiled apologetically, and Riku nodded before striding over to Sora’s side.

The girl had already begun to stir as Sora shook her awake. Riku swatted him on the shoulder. “Don’t shake her! She’s already waking up.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Looking her over, she appeared to be about Sora’s age, and aside from a few scratches on her arms, she was completely unhurt. Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly, looking for all the world like a fish that had fallen asleep in the ocean and woken up to find itself in the middle of a desert. “Where...?”

“Hi there!” Sora was practically yelling. “I’m Sora! This is my best friend Riku, and that’s my big brother, Ven!” Ven gave a little wave from where he was sitting. No doubt he could hear Sora even from halfway down the beach. “What’s your name?”

Despite her confusion, she smiled and obliged him. “My name’s Kairi! Nice to meet you.” She stuck out her hand for a handshake, catching Sora off guard.

Riku took her hand, elbowing Sora playfully as they did so. “Nice to meet you too, Kairi. Sora here’s a bit of an airhead, so don’t be too hard on him.”

“Hey! I am not!” Kairi giggled, though a puzzled look soon returned to her face.

“So, where are we? This must be pretty far outside the city.”

“This is Destiny Islands. I think it must be... very far from your city. Where are you from?” Riku tried to be cautious, but they were curious about the outside world.

She thought for a minute. “Hmm... That’s weird, I can’t remember the name.”

Riku hesitated. “... Strange. What _do_ you remember?”

“I remember... being at home with my grandma.” She looked around once more. “Is she here too?”

Sora shook his head, frowning. “Nope! It was just you and some strange guy. Do you remember him?”

“He wears black and red and he’s got a helmet,” Riku added.

Kairi looked thoughtful for a moment, but her brow furrowed. “I... don’t know. That sounds kinda familiar, I guess. Where is he?”

“He disappeared after trying to kill my brother!”

She looked horrified, covering her mouth with both hands. “I knew someone like _that?_!”

“Well, he definitely seemed to know you. But we don’t know where he went.” Riku felt that maybe they should be more worried about him, being injured and all, but he had hurt Ven. They couldn’t really bring themselves to care about him. And he could probably take care of himself anyway.

Sora chewed his lip nervously. “What are we gonna do if he comes back and goes after Ven again?”

Riku clenched their fists and stood up, putting their hands on their hips and setting their mouth in a steadfast line. “I’m not scared of some weird kid. I’ll protect Ven.”

Sora jumped to his feet and pumped his fists in the air. “Yeah! Me too!”

Kairi got up enthusiatically, brushing sand off her skirt and raising her hand. “I’ll help, too!”

Riku gave them each a fist bump and a smirk. “It’s a plan, then.” They looked back towards Ven. “Well, it’s getting kinda late and Ven’s still hurt. We should probably get back to the main island and find Kairi somewhere to stay.”

“Sounds good!”

“Oh, Kairi, you can meet my mom! She’s really nice.”

“My grandma’s really nice, too! I hope we find her somewhere.”

The children walked back toward Ven, who happily introduced himself to Kairi and accepted Riku’s help to make it back to the boat. It was slow going, but they eventually made it to the dock. Luckily, the boat was just big enough for four people.

As they were about to push off from the play island, Riku thought they heard a rustling noise from the foliage. They squinted and scanned the island, but aside from a seagull perched on top of a tree, there were no signs of life. The other three continued to chatter away as though nothing had happened.

It was probably just their imagination.

-

After a quick and slightly hysterical phone call to Hikari and an unpleasant conversation with Riku’s dad, it was decided that all the kids could stay the night at Ven and Sora’s house. Kairi had some food while waiting for Hikari to come home from her shift at the hospital, grilled cheese that Riku made with minimal supervision from Ven, who spent most of the evening lying on the couch quietly. Sora chattered with Kairi about the island. In return, she told everyone what she remembered about her city: flowers, mostly, but also her grandmother, and, for some reason, Sora’s face. Riku listened attentively while the sandwich cooked in the toaster oven, intrigued.

“I don’t know why, Sora, but I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere at home. Are you sure you’ve never left the islands?”

“Yeah.” He scratched his chin, thinking intently. “Maybe you’ve been here before?”

“... Maybe. Though I think I’d remember.”

It was odd, Riku thought, that she seemed to have lost only some of her memories. Ven, who was rumored to have been found in a similar set of circumstances, had no memories from before he had arrived on the island. How were they different?

They decided to speak up. “... Maybe you met Ven? He does look pretty similar to Sora.”

Ven perked up at their words. Riku knew he had always wondered where he was from originally.

Kairi studied him closely from her seat on the floor. “I don’t think so. They look a lot alike, but I’ve never met Ven. That, I’m sure of.” His face fell almost imperceptibly. A false lead.

“You’re too young to have met me before I came to the islands, anyway. I’ve been living here since Sora was born.” True enough. Riku returned their attention to the food.

Kairi devoured her grilled cheese in less than a minute and politely asked Riku for another. They obliged.

By the time she was on her third, Hikari had returned. She immediately began fussing over both Ven and Kairi, asking Kairi every question she could think of and checking her for signs of hypothermia. She wrapped Ven’s ankle in a bandage while he protested.

She sighed, checking his forehead for no reason. “I can’t believe you twisted your ankle and got a concussion just by tripping, Ventus! We knew you were clumsy, but not _that_ clumsy!”

“Uh... yeah. Whoops, I guess.” Riku threw Ven a puzzled glance, but he made a quiet shushing motion behind Hikari’s back. Apparently he wanted to keep the real cause of his injuries a secret.

They were sure Sora hadn’t gotten the memo, but he was too busy telling Kairi about every station in his kindergarten class to notice Ven’s subterfuge. For her part, Kairi was listening and nodding along intently, occasionally interjecting with stories of her own homeschool education by her grandma. They seemed content, so Riku let them be, albeit teasing Sora about how much harder first grade would be while he groaned.

Did Ven really want to take care of this problem by himself? The masked boy may have been injured, but he was also dangerous. Maybe Ven figured he couldn’t be all bad if he was connected to Kairi, although Kairi herself hadn’t yet been able to confirm that fact. Riku had their doubts.

Kairi would be sleeping in Ven’s bed, while Ven would stay on the couch where he already had been resting. Hikari pulled out Riku’s sleeping bag and put it in Sora’s room like usual. Riku and Sora got into bed but continued to whisper and giggle until Hikari shushed them.

Sora was out like a light almost immediately, while Riku couldn’t quite fall asleep. They were really thirsty, so they climbed out of their sleeping bag, opened the door silently, and crept down the hall.

They heard voices from the living room and stopped. Hikari and Ven.

“-believe Tidus would say that. So that’s why Riku has a black eye?” Hikari was pacing the room, clearly troubled.

“Yeah, but he said he’s sorry. You know how kids are. I doubt he meant it.” Ven sat on the couch, fluffing his pillow so he could go to sleep.

“If you say so. And you’re sure nothing else happened today? The concussion was an accident?”

“Yeah, I just tripped wrong. Um...” There was an awkward pause as Ventus gathered up the courage to ask something. ”Mom, do I have a brother?”

Riku paused. What was this about?

“Of course, Ventus.”

“No, I mean... other than Sora.”

“Oh? What brought this on?”

“Please, just... tell me?”

There was a beat as Hikari considered this. She sighed. “Well, the thing is...” she sat down gently on the sofa next to Ven. “When the neighbors found you on the play island, you were alone. You know that. But we could never find the person who abandoned you. And nobody had ever seen you before, not in the whole archipelago.”

“So, it’s true, then? I just... appeared out of thin air?”

“Yeah. You must have come from very far away. Maybe even... from the outside world. But we just don’t know. So... I suppose it’s possible you have a brother. But a person who would come this far just to abandon a comatose little boy...” Riku could hear the frown in her voice. “I’d hate to think of that person raising another child.”

“They must have raised me.”

“I know. I’m almost relieved you don’t remember any of that. I just...” Her voice got shaky all of a sudden. “I’m... just so glad that you’re happy now, here, with us. I love you, Ventus, and I’m so glad that you’re my son.”

There was a momentary silence as she pulled him in for a hug. “I know, mom. I love you, too.”

Riku turned around. They figured they would just get some water from the bathroom sink. The floor squeaked beneath them.

“Riku?” Ven craned his neck around Hikari, catching sight of them standing there, poised to escape.

Oops.

They walked quickly into the kitchen, abandoning their alternate plan. “Hey guys. I was just getting some water-“

“We love you too, Riku. You’re like family to us. You know that, right?”

They felt tears welling up in their eyes at Hikari’s words. “I... yeah. I love you guys, too. You... feel more like my real family, sometimes.”

Hikari spread her unoccupied arm for a hug with tears already in her eyes. “Oh, Riku...”

The water acquisition forgotten, they ran to the couch, sobbing. 

Sora eventually heard the commotion and came to join the quickly forming cuddle pile even though he was half asleep. Kairi did as well, although it was with a sad smile on her face.

When Riku finally fell asleep that night, even though they were still thirsty, they were happier than they had been in weeks.

-

It was decided that Kairi would stay at the mayor’s house. There was plenty of space after the departure of his youngest daughter for college and he and his wife had experience with children, having raised three of their own already. She was enrolled in kindergarten with Sora by the end of the week. Hikari hoped they might find her grandma somewhere, but seeing as she was from the outside world, Riku thought that was unlikely.

Having gone several days without incident, and figuring the masked boy would have shown himself at this point if he was still there, Ven deemed the play island safe to return to. His ankle had also healed so he could supervise as needed. He sat on the edge of the dock while the kids played several rounds of tag.

They were on their second round of hide and seek, with Riku seeking, when they saw Sora stop dead in front of the room in the central tree and stare.

“Really, Sora? The treehouse again?” They were teasing, but Sora didn’t take the bait. Instead, he slowly motioned for Riku to come up.

Riku was confused, but climbed up anyway. What had he found? “What’s up?”

“Don’t get Ven,” Sora said, in a voice almost too quiet for the normally exuberant boy.

Riku hesitantly glanced at Ven, who was still watching the ocean, then back at Sora. “Why?”

“Look.”

Sora moved aside so they could peer inside.

There was blood splattered in large drops on the floorboards. A familiar helmet lay abandoned by the doorway. Unidentifiable creatures crawled around in the shadows, their eyes glowing red in the dark as they writhed across the floor and along the walls. And there, in the corner...

A pair of yellow eyes, glaring at them in defiance - and fear.

Riku and Sora stayed quiet and stared at him. The masked boy. He wasn’t wearing the mask anymore, and he looked vulnerable, huddled in the corner.

He looked just like Sora.

One of the red-eyed creatures peeled off of his shadow and slithered out the doorway. Riku raised their leg to let it pass, not wanting to touch it.

The boy got impatient with their silence and tried to taunt them. “What? Come to finish the job, kiddos?” He tried to laugh, but it turned into a hacking cough as he clutched at his middle.

“You... you’re hurt.” Sora didn’t look scared. He just looked sad.

“Oh? How do you figure?” He smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes, which stared, unblinking, at the two children.

Riku said nothing. This was too jarring.

The boy frowned. “Stop looking at me like that.”

Suddenly there was a commotion as Kairi ran into the tree house, the creature from earlier carried in her arms. She dropped it when she saw him. “Vanitas!”

Vanitas’ eyes widened. “K - Kairi?” So they _were_ acquainted. That would certainly explain why Kairi remembered seeing Sora’s face.

She marched forward past the creatures and stopped right in front of him with her hands on her hips. With a flourish, she kicked him in the shin.

“... Ouch?”

“That was for being mean to Ven! My grandma says trying to kill people is rude!”

Sora and Riku continued to watch in bewilderment.

That business taken care of, she dropped to her knees beside him as he winced and let out a sharp hiss. She hesitated to touch him. “What happened, Vanitas? Why are we here?”

“You mean... you don’t remember?”

She tilted her head in confusion. “Remember what? I just woke up a few days ago and I was on the beach.”

Vanitas dropped his eyes to the floor and spoke quietly. “It’s probably for the best that you forgot.” He doubled over again and whined in pain. A few more creatures peeled off his shadow and hovered near the ceiling. Kairi watched them nervously.

“What’s wrong? Why are you hurt?”

“It - it’s nothing.”

“But you’re bleeding!”

“It’s been too long since the last time I was injured. This stupid body... it’s not used to pain anymore.”

Riku spoke up in horror. “Why would _anyone_ be used to that?”

He glared at them fiercely, but the effect was ruined by a violent tremor running through him. “Don’t look at me like that! Just leave me alone!”

Sora took a step forward and picked the helmet up from the ground. Vanitas flicked his eyes towards the motion. Sora looked back at him with determination. “My mom’s a doctor. She can help you.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Please, Vanitas. You may be a jerk, but you need help. You’re not going to get any better by staying here.”

“Sure I will.” He tried to cross his arms stubbornly, but Kairi grabbed his hand before he could, much to his annoyance.

“Vanitas! I won’t let you stay here!”

“... Fine.”

Riku blinked. That was much easier than they’d been expecting. They’d barely even gotten their say in. They huffed. “Well, I still don’t trust you. And Ven gets the final call.”

Sora shrugged. “That’s fair. I’ll get Ven, then!”

“Hey, kid! Leave the helmet!”

“Nope!” Sora ran away, carrying his helmet.

Vanitas deflated and stared at the wall, Kairi still holding his hand. The number of creatures around him had seemed to decrease, and Kairi was petting one that looked like a rabbit, its strange ears clutching at her arm. Riku still wasn’t sure what to make of Vanitas. They would’ve thought he’d be angry or maybe even darkly excited at the prospect of meeting Ven again. But he just looked... scared.

Ven appeared in the doorway then, Vanitas’ helmet in his hands and his expression unreadable. Sora followed close behind.

Ventus and Vanitas stared at each other for a minute, saying nothing. Ven was the first to break the silence.

“Why didn’t you leave?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Do you still want to fight me?”

Vanitas scoffed. “Of course, Ventus. As I said, it is our destiny.”

“Have you been protecting Kairi?”

He paused at that one. “... I’ve just been keeping an eye on her. It’s my job.”

Ven looked at him for another minute. He almost seemed to squirm under the searching gaze.

Then Ven sighed. “Well, only four of us will fit in the boat. Sora, do you mind staying here alone for another half hour?”

“No problem, Ven!” 

Kairi smiled in relief, while Vanitas himself didn’t look too excited about the prospect, unsurprisingly. She jumped up and tried her best to pull him to his feet while he winced and complained.

“Come on, Vanitas! You said you’d go!”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

Riku made sure to punch him in the arm when he passed while glaring at him coldly. He looked a bit taken aback but mostly unfazed. This only served to make Riku angrier. Even if they’d all made a truce for now, they’d be sure to watch him closely.

They weren’t going to let anyone hurt their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have any art for this chapter but here's [this](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187304928370/help-ive-fallen-in-love-with-ten-minutes-too) lol  
I will be going to college tomorrow so updates will definitely slow down. Thanks for all the support so far!  
Edit: there is now [art](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187315150840/i-got-so-lazy-on-the-unversed-here-but-lol-just).  



	6. Chapter 6

After seeing Kairi and Riku home and helping his mom pull out the sleeping bag again, Sora was coloring with crayons at the kitchen table. His brother was doing homework at the other end of the table, fidgeting nervously with his pencil. Math again.

Sora drew a blue cat and a black rabbit, both with red eyes. He showed his picture to his brother, who nodded tersely and returned to his paper. He normally would’ve fawned over it. He must have been really preoccupied with something. Sora thought his drawing was especially good today.

The door to his brother’s room opened and his mom stepped out, closing the door gently behind her and standing motionless in the hallway. Ven immediately got up from his chair and leaned against the wall next to her. “How is he, doc?”

She laughed quietly, relaxing a bit. “Come on, Ventus. You know I’m just a nurse.” She lowered her voice. “In all seriousness, though, he’s not doing great. He should be physically fine in a few days, but there are several things that are... concerning.”

Ven hesitated. “... What’s wrong?”

“He has severe lacerations on several areas. He won’t tell me how he got them, and they’ve been exacerbated over the last several days by physical activity and exposure. They should’ve closed up at least some by now, but his body’s barely healed itself.” She looked back at the door worriedly. “I managed to clean and bandage the wounds and I think the bleeding’s stopped, but he was extremely nervous about letting me touch him.”

“The kids did say he was pretty skittish when they found him.”

“It’s more than that, Ventus, it’s...” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. “He’s got scars, deep ones. They look fairly old, but they’re _everywhere_.” She paused. Ven said nothing. “Some of them look... purposeful.”

Ven’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. “You don’t mean...?” He made some gesture that Sora couldn’t see.

“No. No, thank goodness. I don’t think we’re dealing with anything self-inflicted. But...” She stared at the floor, nearly whispering. “It’s _bad_, Ventus. It looks like someone tortured him. Violently. And... repeatedly.”

“So, he was...?”

The question floated, unspoken, in the air between them. Neither wanted to touch it.

Sora had no idea what they were talking about, but he got the distinct feeling he didn’t want to know.

His mom sighed. “He refused to tell me anything, so I can only go off of what I’ve observed. I can’t be sure. Also, you were right; he’s nearly identical to Sora, which is extremely weird. And don’t even get me started on his little monster problem.” She raised an eyebrow. “Where did you say you found him, again?”

“On the play island. He showed up with Kairi.”

“Wait.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Kairi arrived at least three days ago. I thought the kids found Vanitas today?”

Ven scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. “Well... the kids found him today, but I found him with Kairi on Tuesday...”

“Oh? This is the first I’m hearing of this. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I tried to wake him up and he kind of... attacked me?”

She was stunned for a moment before seeming to realize what this meant. “Ventus!” She crossed her arms with a scary look on her face. “Did you lie to me about your concussion?!”

“I didn’t want to worry you! You were already worried about Kairi!”

“I worry about you kids every day of my life, Ventus! It’s my _job_ as your mother!” Sora stopped drawing and peered at her uncertainly. It wasn’t like her to yell. She caught sight of him and frowned. “I just think this is something I should’ve known about.”

Ven clasped his hands sheepishly. “You’re right. I’m sorry, mom.”

His mom huffed and nodded. “Well, what’s done is done. So what happened? Did he hit you?”

“He was swinging around some... thing he called a keyblade. Not very well, of course, not with those injuries. He managed to kick me and I twisted my ankle when I fell down, then when I tried to run away he came up behind me and hit me over the head with the handle end of his keyblade.” Ven wrung his hands while telling the story. “I didn’t pass out, but I didn’t understand a word he was saying, and I... might have hallucinated a bit, to be honest. He ran away after Riku showed up and punched him. I guess he didn’t get far.”

“Hm. It looks like Vanitas and I need to sit down and have a talk. Maybe several.” Her face fell a bit as she remembered the earlier conversation. “Probably several.”

“There is... one more thing.” Ven bit his lip. “Vanitas... he called me his brother.” There was a tangible pause in the room as his mom looked at him in surprise. “I mean, I don’t know if he was being literal or what, but he did seem to know me,” he added quickly. “From before.”

“Oh, honey... is this why you asked me? If you have another brother?”

“Yes, but... I’m not sure what this means. I still can’t figure out why we both look like Sora. Or why he would show up here now, after five years, with Kairi, of all people.”

His mom shook her head unsteadily, eyes wide. “Forget that, Ventus. If you’re brothers... that means your parents or guardians, they abandoned you _and_ hurt Vanitas like that...” She placed a hand over her mouth in horror. “W-what kind of sick people would _do_ that to their own children...?”

He took her free hand, watching her sadly. “Mom...”

Sora wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he figured now was a good time to bring up his question. “Is Vanitas my brother, too?”

His mom and brother froze and looked at him in confusion.

“If he’s Ven’s brother, and Ven’s my brother, then that means we’re all brothers. Right?”

“No, Sora. Ventus is adopted, so...”

“Maybe I’m adopted, too!”

Ven laughed while his mom hesitated, then smiled wryly. “I distinctly remember giving birth to you, honey. I couldn’t forget it if I tried.”

The air cleared ever so slightly. “... It’s getting pretty late. I’ll work on putting Sora to bed.”

“Ven, look! I drew you and Vanitas!”

He proudly held up his new drawing, with a little Ven with wild yellow hair and his signature black and white clothes. Vanitas hovered off in the corner, a mess of black and red and blue without his helmet. Sora thought he looked nicer that way. Still kind of mean, but a little bit nicer.

“Oh! It’s gorgeous, Sora! I love my hair!”

“It’s even neater than the real life version.”

“Hey! Mom!”

Sora giggled as Ven gingerly hung the drawing on the fridge, pouting. “Do you guys think I have a secret evil twin brother, too?”

“Maybe! I guess we won’t know until he mysteriously shows up years from now trying to kill you.”

“Vanitas isn’t evil, sweetie. He’s just... troubled, right now.” She made her way over to the fridge, but paused halfway there. “Wait, what do you mean ‘trying to kill you’?”

“Uhhh...” he grabbed Sora and hightailed it down the hallway. “Night, mom!”

“Ventus!”

The two boys got ready for bed, putting their pajamas on and tiptoeing down the hallway to the bathroom to brush their teeth while their mom sat at the kitchen table muttering to herself and nursing a cup of water. Ven tucked Sora into bed and went to turn off the lights before climbing into Riku’s sleeping bag on the floor. Sora listened to his slow breathing for a few minutes.

“Ven?”

He turned over. “Yes, Sora?”

“Mom said Vanitas was hurt real bad by someone.”

“... Yeah, that’s right.”

“Was it his mom and dad?”

“We’re not sure, Sora. He won’t tell us.”

“But he’s not with them anymore, he’s with us. And mom will make sure he’s ok, right?”

“She’ll try. He might not want to stay with us, though. He doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

“But you’re his brother!”

“Sometimes people don’t like their family.”

“Well, I think he wants to stay with Kairi, and she likes us alright. So he’ll probably stick around.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“I hope he gets better soon. And stops trying to kill you.”

“I hope that too.”

“Goodnight, Ven. I love you!”

“I love you too, Sora. See you in the morning.”

-

The next day was Saturday, and Saturday meant pancakes. Sora dragged his brother out of the sleeping bag and to the kitchen, where their mom was yawning while manning the griddle. She scooped the pancakes into stacks, leaving the rest next to the cooling griddle while Ven set the table and Sora kicked his legs in anticipation.

He drenched his pancakes with entirely too much syrup while expounding to his mom and brother his spooky experience being left all alone on the play island the previous night. His mom gave Ven a bit of a stink eye, but Ven insisted it had been an emergency and that seemed to satisfy her.

Suddenly there was a sharp hiss from near the counter. Sora turned around in his seat to find Vanitas hovering awkwardly near the leftover pancakes, clutching at his exposed forearm. He looked uncomfortable in a pair of Ven’s pajamas, bandages peeking out from under the sleeves and neckline, old scar tissue lining his arms and neck. He glanced at the still-warm griddle guiltily, no doubt having accidentally touched it while reaching for a pancake.

Sora’s mom set down her fork and stood up. “Oh, Vanitas! I thought you were still asleep. Did you want pancakes?”

“... No.”

Sora smiled at him. “Are you sure? They’re good!”

His face twisted in annoyance. “I don’t need your stupid pancakes, kid,” he snapped.

Ven put his head in his hands in despair and groaned while his mom looked distinctly unimpressed. “If you say so.”

Vanitas scoffed and crossed his arms, looking away from the trio. He made no effort to move away from the counter.

Sora went back to polishing off his plate as his mom sighed and sat back down, taking her eyes off of Vanitas. Within a few seconds, the door to Ven’s room slammed shut. Sora turned around again and noticed that at least three pancakes were gone from the stack of leftovers.

“... Your brother’s kinda weird, Ven.”

Ven just groaned again.

-

Kairi and Riku came over later that day to play with Sora. They got out the dolls and the matchbox cars, pretending the dolls were using the cars as roller skates and participating in a very intense roller derby, then ate leftover pizza for lunch before asking Ven to take them to the play island.

Sora had to run back to his bedroom to pick up his sandals, as he had forgotten to wear shoes until he was halfway out the door, and even then, Ven had to remind him. As he was running past Ven’s room, he heard shouting. He cautiously stopped to listen.

“ - cerned about you!”

“You don’t know anything about me!”

“I’ve seen enough to know that you’re hurting, Vanitas. But I can’t help if you won’t tell me why.”

“I don’t want your help!”

“Why not?”

“Because you wouldn’t understand!”

“Then explain it to me!”

He audibly choked back a sob. “Sh-shut up! Just leave me alone!”

Sora’s mom sighed while Vanitas continued to hyperventilate. “Calm down, please.”

“N-no!”

“At least deal with your little creatures. I don’t want them running amok in my house.”

“I’d love to, but you won’t let me summon my keyblade!”

“I have a strict ‘no magical weapons for trying to kill my children’ policy.”

“Then deal with them yourself!”

She sighed again, annoyed. “... Never mind. Dinner is spaghetti when the kids get home, if you want it.”

“I hate sp - spi... that stuff!”

“Sure you do.”

Her footsteps got closer to the door as Sora backed off, trying to avoid getting caught eavesdropping.

As his mom opened the door, two blue, red-eyed creatures shot out through the opening. She yelped in alarm. “Hey! I said I don’t want them running around the house!”

The smaller creature was the same catlike one that had found Kairi the previous night. It sat in the hallway, looking around and twitching violently. The other was almost human-shaped, with huge claws and sad eyes. It ran towards the front door, where there was a commotion from the people outside.

Sora’s mom scooped up the little blue cat, tossing it back into the room and closing the door quickly. She hurried after the other creature without even noticing Sora. He followed close behind.

They heard Kairi gasp loudly from outside and their pace quickened. But when they reached the door, Kairi was gently swaying the clawed creature from side to side, hugging it around the chest while it kicked at the air weakly, making no further move to escape her grasp. Riku stared at it, eyes narrowed. Ven just looked confused.

Sora’s mom breathed a sigh of relief, placing a hand on her chest. “You scared me, honey. Here, let me take that back to Ventus’ room.”

Kairi only clutched the creature tighter. Her eyebrows knit together. “Is Vanitas okay? He only makes Scrappers when he’s upset.”

“Scrappers?”

“Yeah.” She held the creature out. It pawed at the air with its claws, but it didn’t seem to be attacking. “This is a Scrapper.”

“You know what these are, Kairi?” Ven sounded surprised.

“Of course I do,” she huffed, continuing to swing the Scrapper around. “Vanitas calls them Unversed. They’re made of his emotions.”

“Are they dangerous?” Riku glared at the Scrapper, but it didn’t seem to notice.

“My grandma was pretty scared of them, but they mostly just run around and knock stuff over. And they really like me!” She suddenly frowned. “But Vanitas only makes Scrappers when he’s sad. Did something happen?”

Sora’s mom averted her gaze. “... He’s fine.”

Kairi hefted the Scrapper back into her arms and marched right past Sora’s mom despite her protests. Sora followed her, curious and worried.

He stopped in front of Ven’s room as Kairi slowly opened the door. “Vanitas...?”

There were strange creatures everywhere in the room, darkly colored cats and rabbits and birds and... shoes, and other, less identifiable things. Several Scrappers sat on the floor, perking up when Kairi sent the other one to join them.

Vanitas was curled up in the corner again, clutching at his hair and quietly sobbing. Without his suit or mask or contrary attitude, he seemed very small. He was, after all, just a child.

Kairi approached him slowly, tiptoeing out of the way of the Unversed as she crossed the room. “Vanitas? What’s wrong?”

He laughed weakly and shook his head, tears still running down his face. “I - I don’t want to t-talk about it.”

She crouched down in front of him as another Scrapper materialized from his shadow and clung to her arm. “Talk about what?”

“Sh-she keeps asking me, but I don’t - I don’t want - h-he -“ His breath hitched and he coughed violently. He took a few shaky breaths before recovering. “And n-now I’m crying like an idiot.” He made a strangled sound that sounded more like a sob than a laugh and curled in on himself further.

Sora couldn’t see Kairi’s face, but he wondered just how much she knew about Vanitas.

“My grandma says it’s okay to cry when you’re sad.” She held out her arms. “You can hug me, if you want. That always makes me feel better when I’m sad.”

Vanitas raised his head, gazing at her skeptically. He looked away dismissively and scoffed, but after a moment, he hesitantly put his arms around her.

Then all at once, he leaned into the hug, grasping at the back of her shirt and shuddering, soaking her shoulder with his tears. Kairi held him as best she could with her little arms. They clung to each other as though they were drowning.

Sora heard a door close quietly behind him. Turning around, he found that his mom had retreated into her room. Looking at the door, he spotted Ven and Riku sitting together on the steps silently, Ven staring at the sky and Riku at the ground. Glancing back into Ven’s room, he saw that Vanitas had quieted down some, Kairi chattering at him encouragingly. The Unversed were gradually decreasing in number, dissolving back into his shadow. The crisis was over, for now.

Sora went to retrieve his sandals.

-

After another two days of tense interactions, Vanitas disappeared. Sora’s mom and brother looked worried, but not surprised.

Kairi fretted over him all day at school, while Riku simply set their mouth in a tight line and said nothing. Sora was a bit concerned, but he didn’t dwell on it. He had a distinct feeling they hadn’t seen the last of him.

The kids went to the play island that night while Ven left to do his calculus homework. They played a few rounds of hide and seek, pointedly avoiding the treehouse. They weren’t sure whether anyone had cleaned up the bloodstains yet.

It was Sora’s turn to seek when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye, a blue creature that Kairi had called a Flood. He turned to watch it as it scurried along the sand and towards the far side of the island. Forgetting all about the game, he ran after it.

Unversed were cavorting around on the other beach, occasionally running into each other or into the surf. The only living thing on the beach that wasn’t flailing around wildly was Vanitas, who was sitting pensively near the spot they had found Kairi, looking up at the slowly darkening sky.

Sora walked over to Vanitas, who didn’t acknowledge his presence. He sat down beside him, kicking off his sandals and digging his toes into the sand. “Hi, Vanitas.”

He only grunted in response. He was wearing his suit again along with his helmet, although the visor was gone. From up close, he looked downright miserable.

“How’d you get here? I didn’t see any other boats at the dock.”

“I teleported,” he stated, as though it were the most natural explanation in the world.

“Oh.” Sora fidgeted with his pant legs. “So, um... why did you leave? Are you all better now? My mom is still really worried about you.”

Vanitas scowled. “You sure ask a lot of questions for a... how old are you? Two?”

“I’m five!”

“Huh. Kids are weird.” He frowned again as his brow furrowed. “Well, if you have to know, I left because your mom kept prying into my personal business. If she’s that desperate for answers, she can come find me herself.”

“She just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “As though she hasn’t told me that a hundred times already. Parents are overrated, if you ask me.”

Sora stared at him with curiosity. “Do you and Ven have parents?”

Vanitas sighed and turned away. “No. We had a Master. We were his apprentice, and he taught us how to fight.”

“And he left Ven here on the island?”

“Yeah. Pretty stupid move, though. It ruined all his plans for the both of us.”

“Vanitas?” Their eyes met, although Vanitas was more annoyed than anything. Sora tried to proceed carefully. “Is your Master the one that hurt you?”

Vanitas looked surprised for a moment before his expression twisted into a pained grimace. He hugged his knees to his chest, getting very quiet. “... That’s none of your business, kiddo.”

Sora paused. If that wasn’t an affirmative answer, he didn’t know what was. “Did you leave because he hurt you?”

“I told you, that’s none of your business,” Vanitas snapped.

“Then why aren’t you with him anymore? Why did you come here?”

Vanitas inspected the ground very closely. “He... left me behind. Kairi and I left the city and ended up here, but... I have no idea where the Master is now.”

“You and Kairi are good friends.”

He glowered at Sora, but seemed uncertain. “We’re not friends, I just... she’s actually... nice to me. Is it weird to want to be around someone because they’re... nice to you?”

Sora shook his head. “No, it’s not weird. That’s what friendship is.”

Vanitas considered this. “... Maybe,” he finally conceded.

Sora jumped to his feet. “That means we’re friends, too!”

Vanitas’ expression fell flat. “... Excuse me?”

“Yeah! I’m being nice to you, and we’ve been talking for a while and you haven’t even tried to leave! That means we’re friends now!”

“Nope.”

“C’mon, Vani! We’re practically brothers!”

Vanitas nearly fell over. “_Vani?!_”

“Yeah!” Sora gestured wildly between the two of them. “We look pretty much identical, anyway. We have to at least be cousins or something!”

Vanitas froze, then studied Sora’s face intently. His eyebrows raised in recognition. “... I get it. You were Ventus’ second chance.”

Sora tilted his head, confused. “Huh?”

“Never mind.” Vanitas sighed and stood up, stretching as he did so. “I should -“

Suddenly, a huge black dog with yellow and red spots came bounding over, practically tackling Sora and licking his face with wild abandon. Sora couldn’t help giggling in delight, scratching the fluffy dog behind the ears and on its belly. Vanitas gaped at the unexpected scene, wide-eyed.

As Sora rubbed the dog’s belly while it mussed his hair, barking gleefully, he noticed a red symbol in its fur identical to the one on most of the Unversed. “Oh! Is this yours, Vani?”

Vanitas stood stock still for almost a full minute before turning red and stuttering. “N-no! No way is it mine!”

“Are you sure? It looks like an Unversed.” He pointed to the heart shape in its fur. It tried to jump on him, very nearly knocking him down. He shrieked in amusement while the gears were visibly turning in Vanitas’ head.

Vanitas returned to being grumpy once more. Obviously, he didn’t like the conclusion he’d come to. “Yeah, fine, it’s an Unversed. What’s it to you?”

“I’ve never seen one quite so -“ Sora tried to regain his footing but nearly fell over - “soft before! What is this one called?”

Vanitas pouted and crossed his arms. “This one’s called ‘I Hate You’. It means I hate you.”

Sora wrapped his arms around the huge friendly dog as it continued to slobber all over his face and smiled. “Whatever you say, weird cousin Vanitas! I’m gonna call him... Hatie!”

“I’m not your cousin!”

“Soooooraaaaaa!” Sora turned to find Kairi and Riku running towards him and Vanitas, waving their arms in the air and looking perturbed. Only then did Sora remember the abandoned game of hide and seek.

“Vanitas! You’re here!” Kairi ran directly to Vanitas, throwing her arms around him as he patted her head awkwardly. “We thought you left for good!”

Riku stopped near Sora and narrowed their eyes at Vanitas. “Yeah. What a shame.”

Sora frowned at Riku as Hatie leaned over and started licking their head. They pretended to be annoyed, but Sora could see a tiny smile on their face. Riku had always loved dogs.

“I just left Sora’s house, Kairi. I wouldn’t leave the islands.” His expression faltered. “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

“You could stay at my house! Mom and dad still have two empty bedrooms.”

“I don’t think so, Kairi. They probably wouldn’t like me, anyways. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Her face fell and she hugged him tighter. “If you say so.” It was at that moment she noticed the giant dog assailing her other two friends. “Wow! What is _that?_”

“His name is Hatie and he’s super nice!” Sora beckoned her over as Hatie restyled Riku’s hair.

“Aww! He’s so cute, I love him!”

Vanitas tried his best to ignore the three kids as they fawned over the manifestation of his care for them. He turned around and walked away with only the barest of wistful glances over his shoulder. He didn’t deserve their friendship, not really. Best to just leave them alone.

Hide and seek all but forgotten, the kids pet their new friend with wild abandon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187079854620/we-came-up-with-an-au-on-the-discord-server-last) was the first thing I ever did for the au! Brush has since changed the pink to red to match with the other unversed.  
Sorry there was so much angst in this chapter! Think of it as a warm-up for kh1.  
Edit: [Here's](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187481826990/heres-a-couple-sketches-and-memes-for-chapter-six) some more!  
Further edit: [Here's](https://brushstrokesapocalyptic.tumblr.com/post/187481879209/ten-minutes-too-late-by-alangdorf-is-still-very) the concept art for Hatie, designed by Brush!  
Yet further edit: Here is a storyboard of the hugging scene but I changed the names and removed the Unversed and other identifying features for reasons...


	7. Chapter 7

Ven and Hikari were relieved to hear about Vanitas, but they seemed distressed that he had taken up residence on the play island again.

“I mean, the island has, like, coconuts and raw eggs, and maybe a few mushrooms. That’s not enough food for anyone to live on!” After a late dinner, Riku had been allowed to stay the night while Ven walked Kairi home. He was fretting, as expected.

Kairi shrugged her shoulders and continued skipping down the road. “He never seemed to have problems getting food back home. My grandma would leave something out for him once in a while, though.”

Ven looked bewildered. “That’s... beyond weird, Kairi. What does he think he is, a stray cat?”

“He kinda looks like one!”

The sun had begun to set as they were walking, and the evening light filtered through the clouds as they reached the mayor’s house.

They were greeted by a flash of movement and a dark figure sprinting away from the porch. A few Unversed were scattered around the yard. Kairi gasped.

“Vanitas!” She ran after him, just managing to grab the back of his skirt. He yelped and turned around in a huff, pouting as usual.

“What do _you_ want, Kairi?”

“Why were you on my porch?”

He crossed his arms and turned away. “... I dunno.”

“Are you running away because Ven’s here?”

He scoffed. “I’m not scared of Ven.”

“I never said you were.”

They stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments before Vanitas groaned and started dragging himself back to the porch. “Ugh... Fine, I’ll go talk to him...”

“Okay?” Kairi traipsed along beside him.

As soon as Ven turned his head toward them from his seat on the porch steps, Vanitas plastered a smug smirk on his face. “Ah, Ventus. Come to forge the χ - blade with me at last?”

Ven didn’t look impressed by the act. “... I was literally just walking Kairi home. We thought you were still on the play island.” Vanitas glowered. “I still don’t even know what this ‘χ - blade’ business means. Don’t you already have a keyblade? Why do you need another one so badly?”

Vanitas sighed loudly in exasperation, sitting down beside him dramatically. Kairi took a seat also. “A regular old keyblade is different from the _χ - blade_, Ventus. The χ -blade is forged by the collision of light and darkness, and it’s the most powerful keyblade in all the worlds. It has the ability to open Kingdom Hearts and start anew the Keyblade War.”

“... You lost me.”

Vanitas put his head in his hands.

He explained it again, making extra sure to define any unfamiliar terms, much to his own chagrin. Kairi still didn’t get it, but Ven seemed to understand, and he didn’t like it.

“Are you crazy?”

Vanitas pushed his hair back from his forehead and chuckled lightly. “Probably. But it’s not like it was my idea. It’s what we were created for.”

Ven looked at him dubiously. “... Created?”

“We used to be one person. The Master split us into pure light and pure darkness, but in essence, we’re two sides of the same heart. That’s why I call you my brother. And it’s our purpose to grow strong enough to clash and forge the χ - blade.”

Ven seemed almost scared. “That’s absolutely... insane. Why would anybody do that to another person? And for what, an apocalypse?”

“... You don’t remember the Master, do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Poor Ventus... Well, the Master didn’t hesitate. We were too weak to be useful to him otherwise.”

“Why did we even become his apprentice in the first place if that’s how he was going to treat us?”

Vanitas tapped his chin lightly. “I... don’t remember, actually. I’ve recalled a few things before the split, but anything before becoming the Master’s apprentice just... isn’t there.” He thought about it for a minute, then returned to the topic at hand. “Regardless. The χ - blade. The Master told me it was the only way to become whole again and end my own pitiful half-existence.”

“And you believed him?”

Vanitas looked annoyed at Ven’s doubt. “Of course I believed him. He was right. And it’s not like I had any other options.”

“It sounds as though he didn’t give you any. Weren’t you, what, twelve?”

Vanitas nodded sharply in assent but said nothing.

Ven ran a hand through his own hair. “He was definitely using you to get the χ - blade.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Vanitas practically growled. “But with the χ - blade, I would’ve finally been strong enough to defeat him. But without it... well, I didn’t bother. His ‘training’ was already torture enough. His sick idea of ‘discipline’ when I... d-disobeyed him...” He froze slowly, his eyes glazing over. He bit at the inside of his cheek, but didn’t continue the thought.

Kairi spoke up. “This ‘Master’ person... did he hurt you?”

Vanitas took a moment to even acknowledge she had said anything. “... I-it’s nothing.”

Kairi tried to hold his hand, but he pulled it away quickly.

“Vanitas...” Ven started carefully. “My mom, she told me. She’s seen the repeated injuries, the touch aversion, the hypervigilance. What that man did to you, that’s... abuse. And it’s not normal. You... know that, right?”

“I’m not an idiot, Ventus. My life has never been normal.” He stared at his feet. “I’m not even human. Just a poor facsimile of one.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re human or not,” Ven said, shaking his head. “You’re just a kid. You _were_ just a kid. That’s a horrible thing to do to any person, let alone a child.”

“Is that true, Vanitas?” Kairi watched as he shivered, looking lost.

There was a pause, then suddenly he laughed hysterically, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth where he had bitten his cheek. It was a horribly disingenuous sound, terrifying and disheartening all at once. “Yeah, that’s right. My Master hurt me and used me and laughed at me while I destroyed myself. The negativity made me stronger! It doesn’t _matter_ how I felt about it!” He sneered, but his eyes glinted with unshed tears.

Ven watched him sadly. “Vanitas...”

Vanitas glared at him, surreptitiously rubbing at his eyes and mouth. “D-don’t look at me like that, Ventus.”

“Like what?”

He grimaced. “You all keep looking at me like I’m...” His hands shook, but he clenched them into fists. “... broken. I’m sick of it.”

“We’re just worried about you, Vanitas.”

He rounded on Ven, teeth bared. “I didn’t ask you to be! I don’t need your pity!”

“Then what do you need?”

“I need...” He swallowed hard. “I need to forge the χ - blade with you, Ventus. It’s all I have left. I - it’s...” His voice broke, barely audible. “It’s all I ever had.”

Kairi took his hand in her own small ones. It was cold, as always. “You have me, Vanitas. And I know Sora wants to be your friend, too. He already thinks of you as a brother.”

He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Kairi...”

The three children sat on the steps somewhat awkwardly. Ven crossed his legs and considered the waves while the other two held onto each other.

Kairi piped up again. “Riku doesn’t really like you, though.”

“Honestly, they’re like that with everyone they meet, but I’m sure they’ll warm up to you eventually,” Ven chimed in.

Vanitas narrowed his eyes. “Why are you even being civil to me, Ventus? I tried to kill you. I still want to, if we’re already being honest here.”

“Don’t think I’ve fully forgiven you for that yet. You still owe me for all the headache medication I’ve had to take in the last week. But...” He sighed and looked up at the sky. “You _are_ my brother. I feel somewhat responsible for what happened to you.”

Vanitas scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You were nearly dead when the Master abandoned you. It’s not as though you had a choice.”

“Did _you_ have a choice?”

Vanitas studied the ground for a moment. “I’d like to believe I did. Otherwise...” He looked out with dead eyes. They almost shone red in the dim light, but they were still unmistakably gold. “... I’ve just been a puppet this whole time. A faceless doll for the Master to play with...”

Ven and Kairi stayed quiet.

Vanitas gripped Kairi’s hand tighter and grit his teeth. “I hate being used. I hate the Master for what he did to me! I _hate_ him! I just...” Kairi felt a few drops of water fall onto her skin. Vanitas was crying. “I just... want to be whole again. I want to be _happy_.” He shut his eyes and took a shaky breath. “Is that really too much to ask...?”

They sat together silently as the sun set, a quiet sorrow permeating the air.

-

The following day, Ven and Sora dropped Kairi off at her house after school. She waved goodbye to them and jumped up the steps, and was about to open the door when she heard a rustling in the tree next to the porch.

She cautiously approached the tree, peering through the leaves to try and find the source of the noise.

Vanitas was slumped in the bend of a limb, blinking lazily. A Flood was sitting on top of his head, though it nearly fell off as he woke up. It scrambled down the trunk and sat beside Kairi, who scratched it under its chin as it vibrated in delight.

She turned her attention away from the Flood and back to Vanitas. “Were you... sleeping in our tree?”

His ears twitched as he looked around for the source of the voice, taking a minute to find it. He stared down at her, making no move to leave his perch. “... Maybe.”

“Do you want to come inside?”

He grumbled and turned away. “No.”

“Then why do you keep hanging around my house?”

“Why do you care?”

Kairi didn’t understand his aloofness. “Because it’s my house...?”

When there was no further reply, she turned and made her way back up the stairs.

“You sure you don’t want to come inside? I’m sure my parents won’t mind.”

He hissed in response.

Kairi sighed. “If you say so...”

She closed the door behind her and kicked off her shoes. Her new mom stood at the stove. “Hi, mom!”

“Hi, Kairi! You know you can just call me Hana, right, honey?”

Kairi shrugged. “Mom is fine.”

“Will you be staying for dinner tonight?”

“Yep!”

“How was school today?”

Kairi set her backpack down in the hallway and skipped into the kitchen, watching her mom cook stir fry. “Good! I played tag with Sora and Riku!”

“Nice! I’m glad you’re having fun!” She turned off the stove and turned around. “Oh, and I have exciting news! We submitted the adoption papers today. It won’t be long before we’re officially your parents!”

Kairi beamed, but then she thought for a minute. “Hey, mom?”

“Yes, Kairi?”

“Can you guys adopt Vanitas, too?”

Her mom paused. “Um... who is Vanitas?”

“He’s my friend! He liked to hang out with me back home. My grandma didn’t like him; she said he was a stray. But she left food out for him sometimes.”

Kairi’s mom visibly relaxed, although Kairi wasn’t quite sure why. “Let me just ask your father, sweetheart.” She called up the stairs to where the mayor would be in his office. “Taiyo! Kairi needs to talk to you!”

A door opened and Kairi’s soon-to-be dad descended the stairs quickly. “What is it, Hana?”

“Kairi wants to know if we can adopt a stray.”

He reached the kitchen and raised an eyebrow good-naturedly. “Oh? What does this stray look like, Kairi?”

“His name’s Vanitas, and he’s got black hair and yellow eyes. His ears are pointy and they like to move around a lot, it’s really funny!”

“And where’d you find him?”

“I know him from back home, but he’s been hanging around the house lately. He’s actually in our tree right now! He kinda hissed at me when I asked him to get down, but that’s normal.”

Her parents looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation. Her dad finally turned back to her with a smile. “... I don’t see why we can’t take in your friend. I’ll get the ladder.”

“No, it’s okay! I’ll go get him!”

“Okay, honey. Just be careful.”

Kairi hopped in excitement and ran to go put her shoes back on.

“I’ll look up the number for the vet.” Kairi barely heard her mom as she rushed out the door and down the stairs.

“Vanitas!”

He was still in the tree, having shifted to a more comfortable branch. He opened one eye, clearly annoyed. “I’m trying to sleep, Kairi.”

She jumped up and down underneath him. “My parents said they’d adopt you!”

He nearly fell out of the tree. “What?!”

“Come on, come on!”

He dropped to the ground, bewildered, and opened his mouth to try and say something. Kairi grabbed his hand before he could and dragged him inside the house while he protested.

Her parents, who had been leaning against the kitchen counter and discussing something, stopped and stared as the kids entered. Kairi was breathing hard from the exertion, but Vanitas was stock-still staring back at them.

Her mom broke the silence first. “Kairi... who is this?”

She gestured at him, having regained her composure. “This is Vanitas!”

He was very quiet. “... Hello.”

Kairi’s parents looked at Vanitas, still shocked.

“You guys said you’d adopt him, right?”

“Kairi...” Her dad looked very concerned.

Vanitas turned to Kairi. “I was trying to tell you... they probably wouldn’t like me. Besides, I’m, like, seventeen. I don’t need to be adopted.”

Kairi felt tears welling in her eyes. She looked at the floor. “But... you were gonna be my brother...”

Vanitas patted her shoulder carefully. “Aw, c’mon, Kairi. I can still be your... f-friend... without being your brother. Brothers are overrated, anyway. Just look at Ventus.”

She looked up at him as he gave her a weak and very awkward smile. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah. I don’t think your parents want me here.” He turned towards the door, his already fragile smile disappearing. “I’ll just go...”

“Wait!” Kairi’s mom had approached them while they were talking, still looking unsure. “Would... would you like to at least stay for dinner?”

He turned around, glancing at both adults. Kairi watched him expectantly.

“... I guess.”

She hugged him tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No art for this chapter, but the time skip to KH1 will be coming very soon!!


	8. Chapter 8

Ventus woke up to the sound of seagulls, as he had for the last five years. Before that, well, he didn’t remember. But that was okay.

He laid in bed for a few more minutes since it was a Saturday. Then he got up and walked to the kitchen before Sora could drag him there, the smell of pancakes wafting through the air. It had been two weeks since what was officially known as the “Vanitas Pancake Stealing Fiasco”, and Sora still wasn’t letting him live it down. But for now, it was just Ventus, Sora, and their mom at the table, eating pancakes like there was no tomorrow.

Ventus threw on his casual clothes and helped Sora fix his inside-out shirt, and then they were off to pick up the other kids. They raced to Riku’s house first, Sora arriving first as usual. Riku was clearly upset about something, but they brightened after a big hug from Sora. Their black eye from Wakka had pretty much healed.

The three next went to the mayor’s house, Sora and Riku whispering and giggling the whole way there. Ventus grinned at their antics.

By the time they got there, the door was already open, and there was yelling from inside. “We’re having dinner over at Hikari’s, Hana! Yes, we both have shoes on! Bye!” Vanitas rounded the threshold, arms crossed in indignation. “Ugh, she’s so overbearing.”

“Hey, don’t be mean to mom!” Kairi trotted after him, pouting.

He quickly backpedaled. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing...”

He caught sight of the other three kids and immediately blushed while Kairi looked absolutely delighted. She had a new dress and Vanitas was finally wearing relatively normal clothes.

Kairi clung to the back of his skirt and smiled wide. “Mom and dad took us shopping!”

Vanitas frowned. “I told them they didn’t have to get me anything, but they insisted...”

“Dad said it’s fine. Besides, you look really pretty, Vanitas!” Kairi jumped down the stairs and waved her arms back at him. “Come on! We gotta get to the play island!”

He blushed again and shuffled down the stairs, coming to an indignant stop beside Ventus, who chuckled. “Kairi’s got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?”

Vanitas elbowed him in the ribs and grumbled. “Shut up, Ventus.”

The group of kids headed to the dock, Sora and Kairi discussing class excitedly while Riku glared stealthily, or in a way they thought was stealthy, at Vanitas. Ventus was still worried about Riku’s obvious distaste for Vanitas, although he couldn’t say it was unwarranted. He himself was still nervous around Vanitas sometimes, unable to forget the dark keyblade as it had almost been plunged into his chest. But there had been no further incidents since, and his sympathy for his brother’s previous predicament managed to outweigh his fear.

They took two boats, Ventus reaching the island first with Sora and Riku. Vanitas rowed uncertainly, Kairi shouting in encouragement. Sora and Riku ran off to their secret place as Ventus watched the other boat with amusement. When it finally hit the sand with a thump, Kairi jumped out and followed the other kids while Vanitas struggled to tie the boat to the dock. He scowled at Ventus, who kicked his sandals off and waded into the surf.

“We just got out of the water. Why are you going back in?”

Ventus shrugged. “It’s hot, and the water feels nice.”

Vanitas gingerly removed his own sandals and followed him in, hissing at the temperature change.

Ventus looked back at him, a wry smile on his face. “Why do you hiss so much? It just makes people think you’re a cat.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ugh, did Hikari tell you about _that_ incident? Hana’s been mentioning it to practically everyone on the island.”

“What incident?”

“Don’t make me explain, Ventus. It’s extremely embarrassing.”

“If you say so.”

They stood in the shallows, foam swelling around their ankles and the wind gently swaying their hair and clothing. Ventus closed his eyes and breathed in the salty breeze. After a few minutes of silence except for the crash of the far-off waves, he spoke again. “How’s it been going?”

“How’s what been going?”

“You know, living with Kairi and her parents.”

Vanitas sighed and brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “Taiyo and Hana have been... unreasonably nice to me.”

Ventus blinked. “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t be. They’re nice people.”

“I just don’t feel like I... deserve it, y’know? They don’t even know me as anything other than their daughter’s weird friend.”

Ventus turned towards him, studying his pained expression. “Everyone deserves someone who loves them.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it love.”

“Well, they definitely care about you. And Kairi loves you. You know that, right?”

He quietly watched the water roll away from the shore. “... Yeah, I know. I love her, too.”

Ventus smiled. “That’s good.”

Vanitas dragged his toes through the waves for a moment, seemingly interested in the pattern it made in the foam. “But anyways, they don’t even mind the Unversed. As long as I don’t summon the big ones in enclosed spaces, of course. And... “ He hesitated, glancing carefully at Ventus. “They’re trying to get me into therapy.”

“Yeah, I know. Mom’s helping them find a practitioner, actually.” He watched Vanitas’ eyebrows raise in surprise and nodded in response. “She still feels bad about you leaving. She was just trying to help you.”

“... I know. I don’t really blame her. It was my fault for freaking out.”

“It wasn’t your fault. It was just an unfortunate circumstance.” The wind blew Ventus’ bangs out of his face and made patterns in the water. “So do you think the therapy will help?”

Vanitas crossed his arms uncertainly. “... I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.” His face fell. “... What if I’m never okay, Ventus? What if I’m... like this for the rest of my life?”

Ventus stepped closer to where his brother stood. “I think it’ll get better with time.”

Vanitas’ eyes widened in fear. “But he’s still out there. What if he comes back? What if he _finds_ me? I -“

“Then I’ll protect you,” Ventus said without hesitation. “The kids will too. And I know for a fact that my mom won’t let that man ever touch you again. You have people in your corner now, Vanitas, people who love and care for you no matter what.” He met Vanitas’ eyes. “And you’re my brother. I won’t abandon you.”

After a moment, Vanitas’ shoulders fell. “... I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For trying to kill you. It was pretty stupid of me.”

Ventus turned away with a grin. “... It’s okay, I guess. Just don’t do it again.”

Suddenly, the kids ran shrieking out of the secret place, closely followed by a huge black dog that was probably the Unversed that Sora called Hatie. They chased each other down the beach, yelling and laughing. Vanitas scowled and grabbed his sandals to storm after them. “That stupid dog! How’d it even get _in_ there?!”

He ended up being licked mercilessly while the kids giggled at him. Riku also punched him in his unprotected gut at one point, though it didn’t seem to be too hard of a blow and they were smiling afterward. Perhaps they were finally starting to tolerate him, in their own way.

Ventus turned towards the sun, letting the breeze caress his face and play with his hair, his family shouting and whooping behind him. The light reflected off the sea, making the whole world sparkle in warm sunlight.

He was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter, but the pre-kh1 section is officially over!! [Here's](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187249743145/theyre-not-the-pair-of-friends-we-were-expecting) some old-ish art of Vani and Kairi's new looks!  
Edit: [Here's](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187546498720/chapter-8-illustration-for-ten-minutes-too-late) a chapter illustration!!


	9. Chapter 9

Sora plunged through dark water, unable to get his bearings. He struggled for air, nearly losing consciousness before finally giving in and taking a deep breath. To his shock, he could breathe perfectly well, although he was still submerged in - well, it certainly felt like water. Where was he?

As he landed softly on a solid surface that looked no different from the rest of his surroundings, hundreds of shining birds suddenly took flight from out of nowhere. It was so bright that he had to squeeze his eyes shut. And when he opened them again, he gasped in childlike wonder.

He was standing on a huge platform covered in stained glass, lit from beneath, the colored light making unearthly patterns on his skin. As he gingerly walked towards the center, he saw that it was a giant mural of... himself, with smaller pictures of his friends and family carefully arranged behind him. It was a serene and beautiful image, one he felt nearly unworthy to look at, as though it were sacred, untouched by human eyes.

_"What do you want out of life?"_

He turned around quickly, but nobody was there. He could’ve sworn he heard a voice, asking him... what was it? He had already forgotten.

_"What is most important to you?"_

It actually sounded like two voices echoing through the huge space, coming from everywhere at once. He studied the darkness around him, but it was once again empty.

_"What are you so afraid of?"_

A chill ran down his spine as he looked over his shoulder, coming nearly toe-to-toe with the twins, Ventus and Vanitas, their ghostly forms overlapping as they stared at him expressionlessly. He tried to call out to them, but his voice made no sound, and every time he tried to grab their hands, they seemed further away. They spoke in unison, colorless eyes glowing.

_"You are the one who will open the door."_

The ground underneath Sora’s feet disappeared, and he fell, further and further into the abyss, light dimming to a pinprick above him before blinking out entirely. The voices consumed him.

_"Sora."_

-

Sora’s eyes flew open, and he immediately had to squint into the midday sun. He heard a giggle and glanced over to find Kairi squatting down beside him, highly amused. “Have a nice nap, sleepyhead?”

Sora yawned and scratched the back of his neck. “I wasn’t out for_ that_ long, was I?”

“Are you kidding? You were out like a light, as usual. Wakka nearly hit you with his ball and you didn’t so much as roll over!”

“I did not almost hit him!” Wakka was up on one of the platforms, and Sora had to crane his neck to even catch a glimpse of him. “I was aiming for Tidus!”

“So you admit you have bad aim, then?” Tidus wasn’t even visible from this angle, but he shrieked when Wakka started running his direction at full tilt.

Selphie sighed and walked up beside Kairi as she laughed again. “Those boys... Say, did you two wanna do double dutch with me? I brought an extra jump rope today.”

“Maybe later, Selphie. Sora here’s gotta get his sleepy head under control first.” She giggled when he pouted at her.

“Fair enough.” Selphie ran to join her other two friends while Sora reclined on his arms.

“Is Riku still trying to build that raft?”

Kairi cocked her head. “Of course they are! You know how stubborn they can be. If it was you, of course, you’d already be slacking off and taking a nap by now.” Her smug grin was the last straw.

He jumped to his feet. “Well, I’m not napping now. I’ll go help them!” He ran towards the other side of the island.

“Hey, wait up!” She chased him good-naturedly, but she was nowhere near as fast. Sora was the fastest kid on the entire island, or so he liked to think. His brother probably still had him beat, but he was far too old for races now.

The thought gave Sora pause. Had he been having a dream about something before he woke up? Something to do with Ven...?

He reached the far beach and raced towards Riku, who was attempting to tie two logs together with a vine. Sora was impressed they’d managed to wrangle two entire logs down to the beach, but then again, they had been getting buff lately. Very buff. “Hey, Riku! Need some help?”

They turned and gave a smirk as Kairi caught up to Sora, huffing from exertion. “Not from you guys, I don’t.” They frowned. “It hasn’t been going super well, though, and I’m starting to worry about how successful this plan would actually be...”

“I mean, yeah.” Kairi spoke up with an eyebrow raised. “What are you going to eat? Coconuts and mushrooms? And, like... we have boats. That’s a thing. You don’t need to build a raft.”

Riku sighed. “It’s the principle of it, Kairi. But...” They stood up, abandoning their project. “You’re probably right. This was kinda stupid anyway.”

Sora grabbed their arm. “But, Riku! We were gonna go on an adventure together, just the three of us! We’d get to see the outside world!”

Riku shook their head with a grin. “We wouldn’t have gotten that far. But speaking of the outside world...” They turned to Kairi. “What was it like there, Kairi?”

To Sora’s chagrin, she shrugged. “I dunno. Ask Vanitas.”

He ran over to her in disappointment. “What? But you used to live there with him!”

“Yeah, when I was five. I don’t remember it anymore!”

Sora frowned and gave her his best puppy dog eyes. “Kairiiiiiii...”

She stuck her tongue out and happily ran away, leaving him with a grinning Riku. They slung an arm around his shoulders and chuckled. “You really like her, don’t you?”

Sora blushed furiously. “I - I do not!” He crossed his arms and stomped away. “Don’t you need to go talk to Vanitas or something?”

Their laughter followed him all the way across the beach.

-

The kids rowed back to the main island that afternoon and raced each other to the library. Sora opened the door quietly, but there were no patrons and Vanitas didn’t really enforce a noise restriction, so they bustled in at a normal volume level. Sora ran down the aisles until he found a large blue creature with a pair of black combat boots standing on its head. “Hi, Vani!”

There was a long sigh as Vanitas finished placing a few books back on the shelf and stepped down onto the Bruiser’s waiting fist, subsequently hopping to the floor and reabsorbing the Unversed. “Hello, Sora.”

Kairi poked her head into the aisle, smirking. “We can totally see up your skirt when you do that, y’know.”

“No you can’t, I’m wearing shorts,” he deadpanned.

Kairi herself had a skort on, so she couldn’t argue. Regardless, she opened her mouth to continue the sibling ribbing, but she was cut off by Riku at the other end of the aisle. “Hey, Vanitas, what was the outside world like?”

He brushed past them and stopped near a mostly-full library cart, twisting his long hair up into a bun. He had a hair tie in his mouth when he replied. “It sucked.”

Sora perked up. “Details?”

They all followed him as he rolled the cart to the next aisle. “Sorry, but I’ve got no time to entertain you kids right now. I’ve still gotta finish shelving all these books, and then I have to run over to the hardware store. Taiyo leaves at five and he’s left me in charge as his _sole employee_. Not to mention, the help wanted flyers have to be done by tomorrow.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “I can’t believe I have to handle hiring college students for the summer all by myself!”

“You know dad, he trusts you with his very life.”

“Oh, har-dee-har, Kairi. As if he didn’t just hire me because I have extra help.” He handed books to several Floods, who placed them on the lower shelves excitedly. He quickly checked their work and dismissed them back into his shadow, then started on the middle shelves himself.

Sora thought for a minute. “I guess we’ll just have to ask Ven when he gets back from his shift at the hospital with mom.”

Vanitas didn’t even look up. “No, you won’t. I’m meeting Ventus tonight. We’re going out to the play island to reminisce.”

“You made room in your schedule for fond memories of the time you tried to kill him?” Sora was amazed.

“You think I’m that sentimental? It was our _dear brother’s_ idea, of course, so I’ll be blaming him when the stocking doesn’t get finished by Monday.”

“Ven doesn’t remember the outside world, anyway,” Riku pointed out.

Sora’s face fell. “Oh, right. Well... see you tomorrow, I guess! Bye, Vani!”

“See you nerds later.”

The other two waved their goodbyes as the kids all filed out of the library and strolled down the street. Riku asked, “Dinner’s at your house, right, Kairi?”

“Yep! Mom’s making meatloaf, I think.”

Sora placed his hands behind his head and frowned. “It feels like we never get to see them anymore...”

“Who, Sora?” Kairi looked at him with curiosity.

“Ven and Vani. They used to play with us all the time, but it’s been a long while.”

“Well...” Riku started. “They _are_ adults. They’ve got jobs. Two, in Vanitas’ case. Adults don’t have a ton of time to play.” They started running down the street. “That’s why we’ve gotta get as much playing in as we can while we’re still kids!”

“Hey, Riku, you can’t just start a race without telling me!” Sora sprinted after them as Kairi stayed behind, giggling.

It was true. He had plenty of time to spend with his best friends right now. They weren’t growing up any time soon.

-

Ven never came home that night.

After multiple hours of his mom staying up fretting when she should have been asleep, Sora went out the back door and took his boat to the play island.

He wasn’t normally supposed to take the boat out after dark, especially on foggy nights, and he was starting to see why. The waves were an inky black, and he could barely see the horizon. It felt like rowing through an infinite void. He just gritted his teeth and continued in what he hoped was the correct direction.

He finally hit sand and tied the boat off, noticing that it was the fourth one there. He recognized Riku’s and Kairi’s, and the boat Ven and Vanitas had probably taken. Were they all here?

“Ven! Vanitas! Riku!” As he stumbled up the beach, he saw another form running at him. He froze in terror, but it fell into his arms, hugging him. “Kairi?”

“Sora! Why are you here?” She searched his face, looking worried. “Don’t tell me Ven’s missing, too!”

“Vanitas is gone?” He felt his heart sink into his stomach. “Have you found him?”

“No!” She brushed hair out of her face as the wind blew harder. “I’ve looked all over the island, but I can’t find either of them!”

“Did you bring Riku?”

She looked at him in alarm. “Riku’s here?”

They caught sight of something moving near the entrance to the secret place and ran to it. It was another human figure, white hair nearly glowing in the darkness. “Riku?”

Riku turned towards the sound of his voice with lifeless eyes, barely speaking above the wind. “The door has opened, Sora, Kairi.” They reached out, smiling unsettlingly. “We’ll go to the outside world, together! Come with me!”

Sora walked forward slowly and nearly grabbed his hand before Kairi smacked his arm away. “Sora, don’t!”

He felt a tug and looked at the ground in shock, at the pool of darkness that was beginning to swirl around Riku’s feet, pulling him in, too. Riku just laughed.

“I’m not afraid of the darkness! And neither should you be!”

“This... this isn’t like Vanitas’ darkness, Riku!” Kairi yelled at them, trying to yank Sora out. “This is something different! It’s dangerous, I can feel it!”

Riku only continued to smile as darkness crept into the corners of Sora’s vision, blinding him, almost crawling across his skin, cutting him off from Kairi entirely. She could only scream after her friends as they sunk into the void. “Sora! Riku!”

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then, a flash of light, and something warm and heavy in Sora’s hand. He opened his eyes to find... “A keyblade?” He raised it up, observing the yellow and silver metal glinting dimly, a crown shape cut out from the teeth of the key, a keychain with three circles in an odd pattern. “But... how?”

There was another flash behind him, and when he turned around, Kairi was holding another keyblade in a ready stance, one with flowers curled into the shape of a heart. She nodded at him resolutely, while Sora just stared at her, bewildered.

Suddenly, creatures of darkness emerged from the ground all around them, almost like Floods but rounder and with beady yellow eyes. The name came to him in an instant. “Shadows.”

“You ready?”

He twisted into his own ready stance and nodded back, taking a deep breath. “I guess I’ll have to be.”

He jumped into the fray, smacking the little creatures desperately. Beside him, Kairi was a graceful but efficient wave of destruction, taking out multiple Shadows with a single swipe in a style completely different from Sora’s own. “I thought you couldn’t fight, Kairi!”

She snorted. “You think Vanitas would’ve left me defenseless? I just never bothered sparring with you guys cause I’d rather jump rope with Selphie than correct your dismal form.”

Sora noticed a few small Unversed mixed in with the other creatures, trying their best to fight back, but they were ultimately trampled by the mass of Shadows. He watched as a terrified Hareraiser was torn apart and winced at the sight. Why were there still Unversed left on the island if Vanitas himself was nowhere to be found? And Hareraisers... most of them were Hareraisers. What could have made Vanitas so scared? It couldn’t be...?

They continued the battle, but the waves of Shadows refused to let up. High in the air above them, a growing mass of darkness threatened to swallow the island whole. Soon, they were backed into a corner near the secret place again.

Sora remembered Riku’s words. “The door has opened...” There was only one mysterious door they could’ve been talking about. He grabbed Kairi’s free hand and sprinted down the passageway.

She balked and tried to break his grip. “What are you doing, Sora? This is a dead end!”

“The door, Kairi! There may be a way out!”

They reached the secret place just as the unopenable door flew wide open, a wave of wind and darkness blowing them all the way back outside, Sora’s grip on Kairi completely failing. He hit the ground hard.

Dazed, Sora picked himself up, shaking sand out of his hair and spots out of his vision. He searched around for Kairi and found her lying a few feet away. “Kairi?” She was limp and unresponsive. He shook her in alarm. “Kairi!” 

After a moment of not thinking straight, he held an ear to her nose and mouth as his mom had taught him. She was still breathing, at least, and she didn’t look injured. Just unconscious, then.

Luckily, the Shadows seemed to have disappeared, but the island was an absolute wreck. It was hovering in the air in sections, slowly pulled into the gravity of the darkness. And there, on the sand...

A giant shadow shaped itself into existence, a huge heart-shaped hole where its chest should’ve been. A _Darkside_. Sora felt like he’d seen it before, perhaps in a dream. He gripped his keyblade and marched towards it, leaving Kairi behind. He would have have to do this alone.

Sora hacked wildly at its hands when they neared the ground, barely avoiding the masses of pure darkness shot towards him and more endless waves of Shadows. He was breathing hard and nearly ready to pass out when one final blow caused the Darkside to disintegrate. He fell to his knees as it dissipated, returning to the shadows from whence it came.

He was about ready to relax when he felt the wind whip strongly at his back. Before he knew what was happening, it had lifted him into the air and towards the mass of darkness. He grabbed onto a piece of wreckage in a vain attempt to anchor himself to the ground, but the force was too strong and he was ripped away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Kairi being carried away by the darkness as well. He reached out to her desperately, but they were too far away. “Kairi!”

The last remnants of the island crumbled, and the noise increased in volume as Sora drew ever closer to oblivion. He shut his eyes and the cacophony abruptly ceased.

All he knew was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ansem voice: "Darkness!"  
[Here's](https://alangdorf.tumblr.com/post/187298027075/kairis-kh1-outfit-is-literally-god-tier) some art!


	10. Chapter 10

Kairi coughed and spluttered on the beach, propping herself up on her elbows as she hacked seawater out of her lungs. She took several deep breaths, relieved to have oxygen again. She sat up, trying to make sense of what had happened. The last thing she remembered was running to the secret place with -

“Sora!” She jumped to her feet and whipped around, searching for any sign of him, finding none. “Riku!” No Riku, either. Where were they?

Actually, a better question would be where was _she?_ On second glance, this wasn’t Destiny Islands at all. She stared at her surroundings, confused, until she caught a glimpse of red hair disappear behind a rock out in the water. Another person?

“... Hello?” There was no response other than a splash. It was probably just a fish. Kairi sighed and tried to shake herself dry, wringing out her short hair and overskirt, as she considered the previous night’s events.

Vanitas hadn’t come back when he said he would, and Kairi had taken it upon herself to go and drag him home. But there’d been no trace of him anywhere she’d looked on the island. It was as though he’d just disappeared. And then Sora showed up before she could check the secret place, and Riku... It looked like Riku had been consumed by darkness, willingly, almost taking Sora with them. What had they been thinking?

Then there had been Heartless everywhere. It had felt so familiar... She was finally able to actually fight with her keyblade, putting all her training to use and looking really cool in front of Sora. And frankly? She’d been terrified, cracking insults just to keep herself levelheaded enough to see straight. Even then, they had almost been overtaken by the Shadows, resorting to escape through the door in the secret place. She only remembered seeing one thing in the secret place before the door flew open, blowing them back and knocking her unconscious.

There was blood. Lots of it.

She sank to her knees. She was scared. She just wanted to go home with everyone.

As she buried her face in her hands, trying not to cry, a voice came from the direction of the water. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?” She looked up at a girl with red hair poking her head out from behind the rock from earlier. Some fish that had turned out to be.

Kairi shook her head, as she had nothing dry to wipe her eyes with. “I’m fine, I just... Um, where is this, exactly?”

The girl giggled nervously. “Well, I’m not from the sur- er, around here, so I’m not really sure.”

Kairi’s face fell. That wasn’t a good sign. “Are you lost, too?”

“Just visiting. I should probably go home soon, actually.” She swam a bit closer. “My name’s Ariel. What’s yours?”

“Kairi.” She smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Ariel beamed at her. “You too! I’ve never met a human before!”

Kairi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “A... human? You say that as though you aren’t one.”

Ariel slapped a hand over her mouth in shock and disappeared under the surface of the water in a flurry of bubbles.

Kairi reached a hand out. “Hey, wait! I didn’t mean to - “ She scrambled to her feet, kicking off her shoes and mumbling under her breath. “Oh, for Light’s sake...!” She stepped into the shallows and called towards the water. “Ariel! Come back! I didn’t mean it in a bad way!”

A poof of red hair popped out of the water, significantly further away. “You... didn’t?”

“Of course not! I’m friends with people who aren’t human. Or I guess... _one_ person, who I’m... pretty sure isn’t human. Human-adjacent, maybe.”

Ariel swam forward in amazement. “You’re friends with another mermaid?”

“No, he’s not a mermaid, he’s more of a... darkness... cat... creature?” She paused, reviewing Ariel’s previous query in her head. “Are _you_ a mermaid?”

Ariel blushed, her green tail splashing out of the water as she came to a stop and drifted near Kairi. “... Maybe.” She played with her hair in a way that looked like a nervous tic. “I’m not supposed to talk to humans, but... well... you looked so sad.”

Kairi frowned. “I’m just... upset because I lost my friends. I don’t know where they went. I’m not even sure how to get home from here.”

“Where are you from?”

Kairi looked at her uncertainly. “... Have you ever heard of a place called Destiny Islands?”

Ariel placed her hand under her chin for a moment, thinking hard. “My daddy knows every island in the sea, but that’s definitely not one of them.” After another moment of thought, her eyes widened and she circled around Kairi with renewed fervor. “Oh! Are you from another _world?_”

“... Maybe.” She was certainly starting to think so.

Ariel twirled in delight. “I’ve always wanted to see other worlds!” She clasped her hands together excitedly. “How many have you been to, Kairi?”

“Three, I think, counting whatever this one is.”

“We call it Atlantica.” Her eyes lit up with curiosity. “How did you get from world to world? Did you take a special boat?”

“I’m not sure how I got here, actually...” Kairi tried her best to remember, but nothing came up. “Or how I got to Destiny Islands either, now that I think about it.”

“Oh, dear. How will you get home, then?”

“Well, I do know of _one_ way to travel between worlds...”

_“Dark corridors are like a portal between the realm of light and the realm of darkness. You can travel anywhere through them. Of course, I usually use them to get to the store when I don’t feel like walking, but theoretically they can even be used to go to other worlds.”_

_“Why don’t you ever go to other worlds, Vanitas?”_

_“Because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. You’re here, after all.”_

Although that conversation had been immediately followed by an intense roasting session, thinking about it left her a little misty-eyed.

Kairi ran back to the shore and slipped her shoes on, trying to steel herself. She had never attempted to make a dark corridor before, and she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to, considering she had no darkness in her heart. But she was determined to try.

She closed her eyes and focused while Ariel looked on in confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Something stupid, probably.”

Kairi concentrated hard, thinking about swirling portals and other worlds. She raised her hand, opened her eyes, and... nothing.

“Are you feeling alright, Kairi?”

Scowling, Kairi dropped her arm and sighed. “I’m fine, just give me a minute.”

She had never successfully cast magic before, but it was supposedly easier with a keyblade as a focus. Maybe that applied to dark corridors as well. She took a deep breath and summoned her keyblade, Destiny’s Embrace.

Kairi had only been able to call her keyblade for a few weeks now, but it felt like it had always belonged in her hands. Flowers and waves... It reminded her of her homes, both of them.

A loud gasp came from behind her. “What is _that?_ It looks like... a giant, fancy dinglehopper!” Ariel was nearly vibrating with excitement.

Um. Were keyblades supposed to be a secret? It had never seemed to matter to Vanitas, and Kairi couldn’t quite remember...

“Uhhh... yeah. It’s... whatever you said. For sure.”

“Wow! I’ve never seen one like that before!”

“That’s... probably a good thing.” Kairi ignored the outburst and tried to focus again, shutting her eyes and holding her keyblade out in front of her. She thought about what she wanted.

She wanted to leave this world. She wanted to go home, if she still had a home to return to. She wanted to find her friends.

And she wanted her brother back.

There was a flash of light from behind her eyelids, and when her eyes flew open, she found a corridor emanating from the end of her keyblade. But instead of the swirling darkness she remembered, it was a shining white portal beckoning her forward.

“Huh.”

Still in the water, Ariel swished her fins and sighed. “That’s amazing, Kairi! Is this how you get to other worlds?”

“It’s a little different than I’m used to, but I think it’ll work.” She turned to Ariel, who was looking extremely wistful. “Did you... want to come with me?”

Ariel shook her head vigorously, gesturing bashfully to her obvious lack of legs. “Oh, no, I don’t think I can! Besides, daddy would be so worried...”

“Yeah, I guess the logistics are... difficult...” Kairi frowned. “I’m sure my parents are worried about me, too.” She squared her shoulders. “But I have to go find my friends.”

“Good luck!” Ariel smiled at her, although somewhat solemnly. “It was nice to meet you! I didn’t know humans were so nice!”

“I’d still be careful, if I were you. There are some really bad people out there.” Kairi grinned back. “But it was nice to meet you, too!”

“Do you think I’ll ever see you again?”

“I’ll be sure to check the ocean if I ever find myself back in Atlantica.”

Ariel giggled and splashed through the water, surfacing a good distance away near a yellow fish and waving while calling out across the waves. “Goodbye!”

Kairi raised a hand in farewell as the duo disappeared into the sea. Then she turned back to the portal and breathed deep.

She had no idea if this corridor led to her friends, or even if it would bring her to another world. It was a long shot, but it was her only shot.

She stepped through.

“You’re telling me this is the keyblade?”

Leon sighed and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Yes, Sora, it’s called the keyblade.”

“No, I know that. But...” Sora crossed his legs on the bed. “What do you mean it’s _the_ keyblade?”

Yuffie shrugged, a grin still on her face. “It’s a sword that looks like a key, isn’t it? The name makes sense to me. At least as much sense as ‘gunblade’ does, anyway.” She giggled in response to Leon’s pointed scowl.

Sora waved his arms in their direction. “What I_ mean_ is...!” He stopped flailing and huffed with mild annoyance as they looked back at him. “You keep saying it’s _the_ keyblade, like it’s the only one or something. Why?” Leon glanced at him, confused, although he finally seemed to parse Sora’s actual meaning.

“Because yours _is_ the only one.”

“Uh... no?”

Yuffie narrowed her eyes in amusement, her mouth quirking to the side. “Are you saying you’ve seen _other_ people running around fighting with giant keys?” 

Sora crossed his arms. “Yes, actually. My brother’s supposedly had one since he was even younger than I am, although I’ve never seen it. And Kairi and Vanitas have keyblades, too!”

There was a tangible pause, then Yuffie stared at Leon, who was rendered speechless. After a moment, he reddened and turned away. “Perhaps our information was... incomplete...”

Sora’s eyebrows furrowed. “What information?”

Yuffie jumped in, ignoring Leon’s poor state. “You ever heard of a guy called Ansem?”

“Nope!”

“Well he used to be the leader of our city, and he wrote up this whole report on Heartless and stuff. The problem is...”

Leon had sufficiently recovered to take over the speech. “The pages have been scattered across the worlds. It would be extremely helpful if you would look for them on your journey.”

Sora jumped off the bed. “I dunno if I’ll have time to look for some old reports! I’ve gotta find my friends and my brother(s)!”

Leon’s face fell flat. “Sora, why were there audible parentheses around the ‘s’ in ‘brothers’?”

“Well, my adopted brother Ven has a twin brother named Vanitas, although they used to be the same person, and after they were split I fixed Ven’s heart so I look like Ven and Vanitas looks like me, but Vanitas lives with my other friend Kairi and they’re not technically siblings but they’ve been super close since before they even showed up like ten years ago so they pretty much act like siblings. So Vanitas is kind of Kairi’s brother, Ven’s brother, and my brother!” He searched Leon and Yuffie’s blank expressions. “Did that make any sense?”

“Yes!” said Yuffie, at the exact same time Leon groaned “No.”

Leon grunted, standing up straight after leaning against the wall for the whole conversation. “So don’t, under any circumstances, _ever_ ask about your family situation. Got it.”

Sora pouted. “It’s really not_ that_ complicated. But they’ve all disappeared and I need to find them!”

Yuffie consoled him, roughly patting him on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Sora! And if you see any papers lying around, you’ll pick them up, right? For meeee?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“We should go join Aerith and the others, Yuffie.”

“Roger that, Squall!”

Leon’s permanent scowl only deepened. “That’s ‘Leon’”. He shook his head and turned back to Sora. “Are you ready to go, kid? You’ll be fighting an awful lot of Heartless.”

Sora swung his keyblade experimentally. The Kingdom Key... he liked it alright. It matched his necklace and it was pretty effective against Heartless, even though he wasn’t exactly the best swordsman. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Leon!” Suddenly, Yuffie yelled and pointed across the room at a group of Soldiers that had appeared without warning. “Heartless!”

Leon pulled out his gunblade as his expression hardened. “Go, Yuffie!”

She burst through the door to the next room. Sora could’ve sworn he heard a quacking sound, but he ignored it and readied his keyblade.

He followed Leon out of the hotel, attacking the myriad of Soldiers as he went. “These things look almost like Scrappers!”

Leon shot him a look while slicing through more Heartless. “What in the worlds is a Scrapper?”

“It’s an Unversed! They’re little creatures made from Vanitas’ emotions. They look kinda like Heartless, but they have this pointy heart symbol on them instead.”

Leon’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, your brother is - “

“Vanitas is only sort of my brother, Leon! I told you this already!”

Leon hefted his gunblade onto his shoulder, as there were no Heartless left in the immediate vicinity. “Sora, I think Vanitas might have been - “

“C’mon, we gotta fight more Heartless!” Sora ran down the street, not bothering to let him finish. Leon sighed and followed, quickly catching up.

They continued to battle with the Heartless swarming the streets, although eventually they were separated. Sora found himself in a large square, fiercely swinging his keyblade at a thinning group of Soldiers. He barely had time to breathe after destroying the last one before something unexpectedly collapsed on top of him.

He toppled to the ground, just barely managing to hold onto his keyblade. He was dazed, but he thought he heard gasps from beside him and two extremely weird voices yelling in unison.

_“The key!”_

Suddenly, huge pieces of metal fell from the sky, assembling into a vaguely humanoid shape and hovering menacingly towards Sora and his new companions. They all scrambled to their feet and readied their weapons. Sora glanced sideways to find a duck and a... dog??? Well, he’d certainly seen plenty of bizarre stuff today. He supposed this wasn’t much worse.

They battled against the Guard Armor together, the dog bashing it with his shield while the duck cast spells, occasionally healing everyone. Sora parried its limbs out of the way as best he could, resorting to rolling out of the way of its wild spinning attacks. After a long struggle, the Gauntlets he had been whacking broke, dissolving into healing green orbs. The fight finally over, Sora lowered his keyblade and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Kid, look out!”

Before he could react, he was flattened by a heavy force behind him, knocking his keyblade clear across the square. He quickly flipped around, catching a terrifying glimpse of a Hammerleg preparing to stomp on him. Unarmed and unable to stop the Heartless, he froze, watching it descend.

_“Kid!”_

Right before it would have struck, the Hammerleg shattered, succumbing to a simultaneous attack from the duck and the dog. Sora quickly clambered to his feet, racing across the square to retrieve the Kingdom Key.

When he turned around, the duck was standing in front of him with its hands - wings, he supposed - on its hips in disapproval. “Letting your guard down like that... What in the worlds were you thinking!?”

Sora faltered, unsure what to make of the situation. “I - I thought it was dead!”

The duck scowled, its beak twisting in annoyance. “Double check next time! We don’t need you dying on us!” It tapped a webbed foot. “You’re the chosen keyblade wielder! You should know better!”

“But - ”

“Donald!” The dog called in warning, just managing to hold back the Armored Torso with its shield. “I could use a little help over here!”

“One second, Goofy!” Donald shot Sora one last glare. “We’ll talk about this later!” He quickly waddled away.

Sora sighed and pouted, but he gripped his keyblade tightly and followed Donald towards the remains of the Guard Armor. Between this “chosen keyblade wielder” business again, his failure to properly pay attention in a fight, and the fact that there was now a duck and a humanoid dog apparently named Goofy involved in the situation, he was sure there would be another painfully awkward conversation to follow.

Riku could feel themselves starting to panic, there among the upwards-running waterfalls.

“Sora! Kairi!”

Where were those two? They were all supposed to leave the islands together, just three best friends finally escaping the suffocatingly small lives they lived... but not if Riku was all alone! The hooded figure had said Riku would be able to bring their friends with them! The hooded figure had said -

“Searching for someone?” They turned towards the source of the voice and stopped in surprise. A green woman in a long black robe was slowly approaching, her yellow eyes sweeping over them in appraisal. Her voice was almost disturbingly smooth. “Your friends, perhaps?”

Riku took a step back in alarm. “What’s it to you, lady?”

She placed a hand on her chest, a demure smile crossing her face. “I was simply going to inquire whether you wished for some assistance. I happen to be rather good at... finding people.”

“Oh yeah? And who exactly _are_ you?” They crossed their arms impudently.

“My name is Maleficent.” She tilted her head. “And yours?”

They waited a moment before replying, but there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger in conversing with Maleficent. “... Riku.”

She nodded in approval. “Well, Riku, regardless of whether you desire my help, I would suggest you return with me to the castle for the time being. Unless you prefer to remain here, that is...?” She gestured to the dead end they were currently at with some amusement.

Seeing no other obvious way out other than the path that presumably led to the castle, Riku reluctantly agreed. “Yeah, ok.”

“Excellent.” Maleficent lightly turned, beckoning Riku to follow. They did, although at quite a few steps’ distance.

“What is this place, anyway?”

“This world is known as Hollow Bastion.” She glanced back, seemingly expecting Riku’s lack of dismay at the news. “You seem remarkably untroubled to find yourself in another world, child. I assume it was an anticipated trip?”

They looked away, pretending to study the gravity-defying water flow. “... You could say that.”

“Hmm. Quite the intriguing response.” They made it a fair distance in silence, but she sighed and pivoted back towards Riku as they reached the gates of the massive castle, which was in obvious disrepair. “I do regret to have misled you slightly, Riku.”

They tensed up, immediately going on the defensive. “How so?”

“You see, it would be fair to say that your presence here was... expected.” She held a slender hand up, preventing an outburst. “Not for any sinister reasons, of course. I simply have a few acquaintances of your in attendance, and they informed me you would be on your way shortly.”

“Acquaintances? Who?” Riku couldn’t help but hope it might be Sora and Kairi, but judging from Maleficent’s earlier lack of reaction to their names, it probably wasn’t. They deflated a little.

“I’m certain they will make themselves known to you promptly. There is no need to worry, child.” With another smile, she waved her arm, causing the castle doors to swing open. She stepped inside, and Riku once again followed her.

As the two made their way through the entrance hall, Riku noticed two figures in the shadows at the far side of the room. One of them, to their shock, was the hooded figure from the island. But the other one was...

Riku’s fists clenched at their sides.

_Him?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry this chapter took so long, but between school and writing almost 7k of future chapters and other content for this fic that I can't post yet (oops), the time kinda got away from me! But here we are, finally in the meat of kh1. I'll be skipping most of the Disney world stuff and, as you've seen, it'll start cycling through the kids' perspectives rather rapidly. We'll just have to see where it goes! :) Also no art for this chapter, although I do have quite a lo t of art for that 7k that I also can't post yet because spoilers... sigh. (Also dark corridors are basically nether portals don't @ me.)


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